Season 2021

Reopening of the Franco-German Historial and the crypt on 2 June 2021

Despite more than 200 days of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team of the “Comité du Monument National du Hartmannswillerkopf” worked all winter to prepare this new season, which will be dedicated to the centenary of the site's classification as a historical monument. In 2021, visitors will be able to discover several new features, including a seasonal exhibition dedicated to this theme as well as an educational workshop devoted to the archaeology of the Great War.

On February 2nd 1921, the Hartmannswillerkopf battlefield was the first site of the Great War to be classified as a historical monument. One hundred years later, an original exhibition enriched by objects but also documents and photographs, often not previously shown, will present the major stages that made it a major site of the Great War in Alsace. A bilingual exhibition catalogue (French/German) will allow visitors to explore this theme in greater depth.

Thanks to the support of the “Banque Populaire Alsace Lorraine Champagne” and the Herrenknecht company, a new educational tool will also be created. An archaeological trench built near the Franco-German Historial will allow young people to immerse themselves in the history of the First World War in an original way. This immersive workshop will be the subject of activities during the summer.

For the sports-minded, the ultratrail "The History Ultra" will also set off from the Hartmannswillerkopf on Sunday 5 September. This first ultra-marathon by stages in the Vosges will cover 150 km over 5 days through the historical sites of Alsace.

As soon as it reopens, visitors will be able to rediscover the HWK from a new angle. On the one hand, this exhibition will shed light on the major stages that marked the construction of the memory of this emblematic site. On the other hand, the educational archaeological trench will make families and schools aware of this discipline, which encourages the transmission of memory through the hands.