Musée Somme 1916

Useful Information

Location:	Rue Anicet-Godin, 80300 Albert. (50.003818, 2.648375)
Open:	All year daily 9-18. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 7.50, Children (6-16) EUR 4.50, Children (0-5) free. [2023]
Classification:	World War II Bunker Underground Museums
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=18 °C.
Guided tours:	D=90 min, L=250 m, VR=10 m. V=90,000/a [2014]
Photography:	not allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Musée Somme 1916, Association Musée Somme 1916, Rue Anicet-Godin, 80300 Albert, Tel: +33-322-75-16-17. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

29-AUG-1914	Germans occupy Albert.
01-JUL-1916	British offensive.
21-MAR-1917	Franco-British offensive.
25-MAR-1918	Germans reoccupy Albert.
22-AUG-1918	allies destroy town.
01-JUL-1992	museum opened to the public.

Description

The Musée Somme 1916 is located where the infamous Battles of the Somme raged during World War I. It was the Franco/British offensive of 01-JUL-1916. It is located underground, in an air raid bunker, and the educational signs are in foru languages, of all nations which participated: French, English, German, and Dutch. The underground passage is actually from the 13th century, and was rehabilitated as an air raid shelter in 1938, so it is not related with World War I.

There area some twenty display cases presenting objects, equipment and weapons from the period. Main topics are obviously gas warfare and tanks, both were developed during World War I. There are some 15 dioramas which represent important szenes of the battle. There is even the reconstruction of a trench under nighttime bombardments including the sound and visual effects.

The town Albert was a Roman settlement with the name Encre, later called Enk. After it became property of the Kings of France, and Louis XIII decreed that it would be named Albert after Lord Albert of Luynes. During the First World War, the town of Albert became a British garnison town. It was the starting point of the Battle of the Somme. But when the town was conquered by the Germans in 1918, during the ultimate Ludendorff offensive, the British army destroyed it completely. Only the Post Office was still standing, one single building.

The massive destructions of World War I were obviously the reason why the city spent a lot of money to fortify the Medieval passages below the ground as air raid shelter on the eve of World War II.