Attractions
La nécropole nationale de Montdidier
Address: 62 Rue de Roye, Montdidier, France .The Montdidier National Necropolis contains the remains of soldiers killed in various battles that took place in the Somme between 1914 and 1918. Created in 1924, this necropolis was developed until 1936 to gather the bodies of soldiers exhumed from temporary military cemeteries or isolated graves. Nearly 7,500 soldiers are buried here: 5,789 French soldiers in individual graves and 1,671 in two ossuaries, one Belgian and one Italian. Alongside these men, 24 Commonwealth airmen (13 British, 10 Canadian and 1 Australian) who died in April 1942 and May 1944 were also buried here. On the outskirts of the town, a monument has been erected in memory of the 212 French airmen who fell in the skies over Picardy in May-June 1940.
Eglise Saint-Pierre
Address: Rue Saint-Pierre, Montdidier, France .Construction of Saint Peter's Church began in the 1460s but remained unfinished in the 16th century.
The flamboyant Gothic portal was built in 1538 by Chaperon, master mason of Beauvais Cathedral.
The town of Montdidier was almost completely destroyed in 1918, but Saint-Pierre Church was rebuilt identically between the two world wars.
The building was listed as a historic monument in 1920.
Eglise du Saint Sépulcre
Address: 11 Rue Parmentier, Montdidier, France .The Church of the Holy Sepulchre owes its existence to the First Crusade. Hugues des Payens, born in Montdidier and one of the founders of the Knights Templar, along with Hugues de France, Count of Vermandois and Montdidier, brother of King Philip I, were present at the siege of Jerusalem in 1099. They returned to their city with numerous relics and two pieces of the True Cross. To house them, the city built a church dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre. It was completed in 1146. However, the wall erected by Philip Augustus to protect the city left the church outside the enclosure. It was destroyed by soldiers in 1411 and rebuilt in 1419 inside the ramparts. In 1523, during the long conflict between Francis I and Charles V, the Habsburg cannons razed it to the ground. However, as it had long been considered too small, it had been replaced by another church, consecrated in 1519: the current church.
Marais de Génonville
Address: QG45+H2 80110 Moreuil, France .This is a 40-hectare natural area in a bend of the Avre River in Moreuil, which has been protected by a Biotope Protection Order since 16 July 1991. It is also listed as a SCI pSIC (Avre Peat Bogs and Marshes) under the European Natura 2000 network. Throughout the walk, you will come across numerous explanatory panels set up by the Picardy Conservatory of Natural Areas. The Génonville Marsh, also known as the ‘Marsh of the Grande Anse’, has retained its wild but preserved character. It is home to a wide variety of habitats and several animal and plant species of great heritage value. A discovery trail invites you to explore this marsh, passing from island to island on small wooden bridges.
