https://heritage.directory/Properties Heritage, the app that helps you find history. Featuring properties from CCT, English Heritage, Scottish Heritage Trust, Scottish National Trust, HHA, CADW and many independent sites. en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Vis-En-Artois Cemetery is a burial site of Canadian and British soldiers who died in the First World War located between the villages of Vis-En-Artois and Haucourt.Canadian forces took these villages in August 1918 and Vis-En-Artois Cemetery, which originally held 430 graves belonging to fallen Canadian soldiers and some from the Second Duke of Wellington regiment, has since been expanded to incorporate graves from smaller, surrounding cemeteries.Vis-En-Artois Cemetery is now home to 2,369 First World War graves and is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Many of the graves at Vis-En-Artois Cemetery are unidentified and there are also several memorials. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/vis-en-artois-cemetery Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:38:21 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1959 The Verdun Memorial (Mémorial de Verdun) is both a memorial site and a museum located in the Verdun Battlefield in France. The Battle of Verdun was a fierce clash between French and German forces in 1916 during the First World War which resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties.The Verdun Memorial is set amidst the site of this battle and the surrounding landscape bears the scars of the war, including mine and shell craters. The Verdun Memorial Museum displays an array of objects and documentation dating back to the Battle of Verdun, including weaponry, French and German aircraft, photographs and medical equipment.Laid out over two floors, the Verdun Memorial Museum immerses the visitor in the realities of the battle by recreating the trench system and using multimedia presentations to guide visitors through the events of the war. Exhibits are translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch, making the Verdun Memorial very accessible and the museum is divided thematically.For those wishing to tour Verdun generally and see the different sites, the Verdun Memorial offers advice and itineraries, meaning it’s a good starting point for anyone touring independently. It also has a dedicated educational centre. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/verdun-memorial Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:30:40 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1957 The Ulster Memorial Tower in Thiepval in France is a 70-foot high stone structure built as a memorial to the men of Ulster who fought and gave their lives during World War I. The first memorial to be built on the Western Front, the Ulster Memorial Tower is a replica of Helen’s Tower, an important monument which is located in County Down in Northern Ireland.Located on what was the German front line during the Battle of the Somme, the Ulster Memorial Tower faces Thiepval Wood, the site from which the 36th (Ulster) Division made its charge on the first day of the famous offensive, 1 July 1916. Today, the site offers guided tours of these woods from its visitor centre.Inside the Ulster Memorial Tower, visitors can view the plaques dedicated to the Irish soldiers, several paintings and visit its memorial chapel. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/ulster-tower Thu, 08 Oct 2015 16:50:54 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1949 The Somme 1916 Museum is part of the Circuit of Remembrance, a tour of the Picardie region of France dedicated to the Battle of the Somme. The Battle of the Somme was one of the most brutal battles of the First World War.Based in a former crypt in the town of Albert which later acted as a Second World War underground shelter, The Somme 1916 Museum displays a series of exhibits relating to the Battle of the Somme, including original weaponry, uniforms and equipment as well as looking at the experiences of the soldiers in the trenches.The Somme 1916 Museum uses a variety of methods to try and recreate soldiers’ lives, immersing visitors in the experience with imagery, sound effects and lighting. Guided tours are available in English, French and German as are films in the museum’s projection room. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/the-somme-1916-museum Sat, 03 Oct 2015 12:10:52 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1947 The Pantheon in Paris (Le Pantheon), was built as a result of King Louis XV’s determination to create an edifice to the glory of St-Genèvieve, the patron saint of Paris.“The Pantheon” means “Every God” and construction began in 1758 with the intention that the building be a church. However, it was completed just before the French Revolution in 1789 and the revolutionary government converted The Pantheon into a mausoleum for the interment of great Frenchmen. The Pantheon’s crypt is now the burial place of many French icons and bears the inscription ‘Aux Grands Hommes La Patrie Reconnaissante’, meaning "To the great men, the grateful homeland".Those buried there include Rousseau, Émile Zola, Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Jean Moulin, Marie SkÅÀšodowska-Curie, and the architect of the Pantheon Jacques-Germain Soufflot. In fact, Soufflot died before the Pantheon was completed, meaning that his vision of a semi-gothic building with elements of basic principals was somewhat compromised.Guided tours of the Pantheon are available and last approximately 45 minutes. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/the-pantheon---paris Sat, 03 Oct 2015 11:39:00 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1942 The Joan of Arc Memorial Cross is located in Rouen in France in the location where Joan of Arc, the Catholic saint, patron saint of France and solider was burnt at the stake on 30 May 1431.Joan of Arc was an important figure in the Hundred Years’ War and is said to have been inspired by the voice of God to rid her native France of the English. From freeing fortresses to entire cities such as Paris and Reims, Joan of Arc played a vital role in the war. However, in 1430, Joan was captured and sold to the English.Joan of Arc was tried and convicted of heresy, leading to her being executed. In 1456, a court led by Pope Calixtus III posthumously reversed the conviction. Joan of Arc was beatified in 1909 and canonised in 1920.The Joan of Arc Memorial Cross is an iron construct found at the Eglise Jeanne d’Arc. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/the-joan-of-arc-memorial-cross Fri, 23 Oct 2015 16:22:14 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1980 The Franco Australian Museum in Villers-Bretonneux in France is one of the sites along the route dedicated to First World War history, known as the Circuit of Remembrance.The Franco Australian Museum looks at the role played by Australian forces during the World War I. A small museum based on the first floor of the Victoria School, the Franco Australian Museum offers a variety of exhibitions including visual presentations. The town of Villers-Bretonneux was also the site of fierce fighting during the First World War. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/the-franco-australian-museum Sat, 03 Oct 2015 12:14:06 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1948 The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) is an imposing iron monument on Paris’ Champ de Mars by the river Seine.The Eiffel Tower was built between 1887 and 1889 based on the design of engineer Gustave Eiffel, after whom the tower was named. In fact Eiffel’s design was chosen out of 107 other proposals as part of a competition to create an iron structure as the entrance way to Paris’ Universal Exhibition World Fair or ‘Exposition Universelle’. The intention was to mark the centennial of the French Revolution.Work on the 15 metre foundations began on 26 January 1887 and the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889 when Eiffel himself climbed the Tower’s 1,710 steps and planted the French flag at its peak.At that time, the Eiffel Tower’s 312 metres in height made it the tallest building in the world, only eclipsed in 1929 with the construction of New York’s Chrysler Building. Today the Eiffel Tower is 324 metres tall due to the later addition of antennas, making it the tallest building in Paris and the fifth tallest in the world.The Eiffel Tower is a tourist hotspot and visitors can climb or use the lifts to reach the first or second floors, the latter of which is 115 metres high. The most expansive views can be found on the Eiffel Tower’s third level at 276 metres, which has its own separate lift from the second floor. A backstage tour is available, which details the workings of the Eiffel Tower and its history. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/the-eiffel-tower Sat, 03 Oct 2015 11:38:13 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1941 The Catacombs of Paris (Les Catacombes de Paris) came into use as a burial place for Parisian bones in the eighteenth century following the overpopulation of Parisian cemeteries and the closure of the Cemetery of Innocents (Les Innocents).The Catacombs are underground quarries encompassing a portion of Paris’ old mines near Place Denfert-Rochereau and, at the time, were outside the city gates. The official decision to use the quarries was made on 9 November 1785 and they were blessed on 7 April 1786, following which bones from the Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs cemetery were moved there. Further remains were amassed at the Catacombs of Paris over the years, including those who died in several riots during the French Revolution. Overall, approximately six million human skeletons lie within the Catacombs of Paris.A fascinating, unusual and somewhat haunting tourist attraction, The Catacombs of Paris are well worth a visit for those who are not claustrophobic or easily spooked. A tour of the Catacombs takes approximately an hour and involves climbing 83 steps. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/the-catacombs-of-paris Sat, 03 Oct 2015 11:35:18 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1940 St Amand de Coly in the Dordogne, France is a well-fortified yet austere church originally built in the twelfth century and completed in the thirteenth. Located in a village by the same name, St Amand de Coly is a Romanesque style church which is heavily defended by ramparts and high towers.During the One Hundred Years’ War, St Amand de Coly suffered significant damage and was later the subject of a dramatic sixteenth century siege. However, it was the French Revolution which ended its life as a religious centre.Today, St Amand de Coly is open to the public. https://heritage.directory/properties/national-monuments-of-france/st-amand-de-coly Fri, 23 Oct 2015 16:15:04 +0100 https://heritage.directory/index.php?pcat=2&item=1977