First World War.
Considered the symbol of the Battle of Liège and Belgium's heroism in the face of the German attack in 1914, Loncin Fortress remains an exceptional place of memory preserved in the state of its destruction during the First World War.
The trench path
A German bunker and trench system from 1917.
Considered to be one of the best preserved trench systems from World War I in all of Europe! It contains 4.7 km of trenches and about 21 bunkers, of which 4 are opened and accessible to visitors.
On the trail of LEUTNANT ZIMMERMANN
In the Fortress of Stabroek, there is the Zimmermann room, where a number of aerial photographs of this German pilot from 1918 are on display in large format. Back in time, you will discover the well-preserved remains of the unique military heritage around Antwerp.
The Death Wire
The death wire was an electric fence on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands during World War I. It was the border between war and peace.
The death wire was installed because German soldiers did not succeed in hermetically sealing off the kilometer-long national border. Many people were able to cross the border because of this: volunteers for the Belgian army, spies, deliverers of clandestine mail, resistance fighters, smugglers and refugees.
Second World War
During the Second World War, in 1942-1944, the German occupiers used Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen as a collection camp for Belgian Jews and gypsies. From this camp, approximately 25,500 Jews and 354 gypsies were deported, most of them to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The SS occupied it during the Second World War and converted it into an Auffanglager for Jews,maquis and political prisoners. Today, the Memorial is one of the best-preserved witnesses to the Nazi horror in Europe.
The little village of Brûly-de-Pesche, in the South of the Province of Namur, was chosen to be Hitler's headquarters for three weeks in June 1940. The site was ideally located, only a few kilometres from France, nestled in a woodland. From there Hitler orchestrated his invasion of France. Also known as the Wolf's Gorge (Wolfsschlucht), the site still bears the scars of Hitler's stay and has a concrete bunker with two armoured doors, as well as two Bavarian-style chalets in which the Fuhrer and his officers stayed.
The broken bridge in Bohan
It has been almost 80 years since it was destroyed during the Second World War. It was destroyed on May 11, 1940 by the French who wanted to protect their pension. In 1941, the bridge was temporarily repaired with wood and the tram was able to pass again. But on August 6, 1944, like the French army engineers in 1940, the Germans also demolished it to protect their retreat. It was never rebuilt.
The Maquis Camps at Vresse
In the Basse-Semois sector (Group D), there were more than 20 Maquis camps during the last World War. Depending on the circumstances of this war, they were abandoned, razed to the ground by the enemy or rebuilt elsewhere. It is impossible to describe them all here.