THE CROSS OF LORRAINE

Description :

"If one day, when I am gone, there is a wish to mark this place, it is here that it should be done, but very simply, without a statue... perhaps a Cross of Lorraine" declared General de Gaulle. And so it was that the Cross of Lorraine was built to designs by architects Nebingen and Mosser, on La Montagne at an altitude of 397 metres, Work began on 25th January 1972 and was completed on 6th May. The monument was inaugurated on 18th June 1972 in the presence of President Pompidou, the de Gaulle family and a vast crowd of ordinary people. To fund it, a national and international subscription was launched; 7 million francs were collected, including money from 63 countries. A few technical details: height 44.3 metres, width of the crossbars 19.16 and 14.12 metres and height of the crossbars approx. 4.04 metres. Approx. weight 1,500 tonnes, weight without the foundations 950 tonnes. 36,525 cobblestones and 1,638 pink granite plaques. The Cross of Lorraine was designed to withstand winds of 150 k.p.h.

Contact details :

• 52330 COLOMBEY LES DEUX EGLISES