Saturday 13 September 2008

Monument aux Morts


This is for Virginia who asked for a closer look at the War Memorial.

Let's start with a little history: the memorial was inaugurated in 1928 to commemorate the nicois dead during the first world war then extended to include those killed in the second world war and the conflicts in Indochina and Algeria.

The structure is magnificent and really does honour those who died for their country. At 32 metres high it's constructed from local stone and is built into the base of the Chateau hill looking out over the Mediterranean sea and the Port of Nice. The original designs planned for it to be built in a beautiful and peaceful setting far from traffic; these days a busy 4 lane road runs across the front, unfortunately...I'll try to get a night shot because it looks even more imposing lit up.
If you'd like more information you can find it here in French.

3 comments:

Virginia said...

Merci beaucoup, mon amie. It is lovely indeed. Thanks for the close up. I just realized how large it was when I spotted the flowers on stands in the center. They are dwarfed by the memorial!

Jane Hards Photography said...

I remember this. I have this but not a close up.It looks really goo in b&w.

Rob said...

Merci, I enjoy this bit of history. Superb black and white photo.