Monument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918
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Monument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918, located in Eguzon-Chantôme (Indre), is a historic monument. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Location
- Eguzon-Chantôme, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 46.4424, 1.5827
- Mérimée Reference
- PA36000046
Built after the Great War in the Berry region, the Éguzon-Chantôme war memorial honours the local children who fell at the front. This stone monument was listed as a Historic Monument in 2020.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
In the heart of the village of Éguzon-Chantôme, nestling in the south of the Indre department on the edge of the Creuse Regional Nature Park, the 1914-1918 war memorial stands out as one of the local community's most significant landmarks. Listed as a Historic Monument by decree on 21 December 2020, it now enjoys national recognition that confirms its heritage and symbolic value, a rare distinction for this type of commemorative building in a rural setting. Like many of the monuments erected in the years following the 1918 Armistice, this one has the names of the soldiers from Éguzon-Chantôme who died in the trenches on the Verdun, Marne and Flanders fronts engraved in stone. Each name is a collective scar, a reminder that these rural communities in Berry were proportionally among the hardest hit by the demographic drain of the Great War. The experience of visiting the site is one of quiet gravity. Far from the large urban complexes, this monument invites visitors to come face-to-face with the history of the village. The list of engraved names - often recurring surnames, signs of the same decimated family - is particularly powerful for visitors sensitive to the human stories behind the numbers of war. Éguzon-Chantôme, with the Creuse River running through it and the man-made lake of the dam towering above it, is a place of great natural beauty. The proximity of the deep valley and the landscapes of the Creuse give this place of remembrance an atmosphere that is both melancholy and soothing, conducive to remembrance and reflection.
Architecture
The Éguzon-Chantôme war memorial is in the tradition of rural memorials erected between the wars, characterised by a sober monumentality adapted to the village scale. Its typical composition combines a base in local cut stone - probably limestone or granite, in keeping with the geology of the south of Indre and the Creuse region - and a vertical shaft topped by a symbolic element, stele, obelisk or allegorical figure. The statuary or ornamental sculpture, common on this type of building, may incorporate classic patriotic motifs: laurels, palms, the Croix de Guerre, the Gallic cockerel or the figure of the Poilu. The names of the fallen soldiers are engraved in Roman capitals in the stone, in accordance with the memorial convention in use since the post-war years of 1918. This sober, legible typography ensures that the names will live on for generations to come. Registration as a Monument Historique suggests that the building has above-average formal qualities, whether in terms of remarkable sculptural execution, meticulous architectural composition or a particularly representative example of the commemorative art of the period. Set in the public space of the village, the ensemble, together with its built environment, forms a landscape whose coherence contributes to the visual identity of the village.
Related Figures
Les soldats d'Éguzon-Chantôme tombés lors de la Première Guerre mondiale (1914-1918), dont les noms sont gravés sur le monumentLe maire d'Éguzon-Chantôme en exercice lors de l'érection du monument (années 1920), initiateur de la souscription communaleLe sculpteur ou marbrier local ayant réalisé l'œuvre, artisan représentatif des ateliers commémoratifs berrichons de l'entre-deux-guerresLes anciens combattants de la commune, premiers gardiens de la mémoire et organisateurs des cérémonies annuellesLes représentants du Service régional du patrimoine ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription MH finalisé en décembre 2020
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Monument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918 located?
Monument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918 is located in Eguzon-Chantôme, Indre department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
Is Monument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918 open to visitors?
Monument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918 is currently closed to visitors.