Fleury-devant-Douaumont
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name = Fleury-devant-Douaumont
|commune status = Commune
|image = Fleury-devant-Douaumont-FR-55-fin juin 1916-B.jpg
|caption = Photo from Fleury-devant-Douaumont in June 1916
|image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Fleury-devant-Douaumont (Meuse).svg
|arrondissement = Verdun
|canton = Belleville-sur-Meuse
|INSEE = 55189
|postal code = 55100
|mayor = Jean-Pierre Laparr
|term = 2020–2026
|intercommunality = CA Grand Verdun
|coordinates = {{coord|49.19801|5.42883|scale:10000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m =
|elevation min m = 227
|elevation max m = 390
|area km2 = 10.27
|population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}
Fleury-devant-Douaumont ({{IPA|fr|flœʁi dəvɑ̃ dwomɔ̃}}, literally Fleury before Douaumont) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
During the Battle of Verdun in 1916 it was captured and recaptured by the Germans and French 16 times, with all structures being completely destroyed. Since then, it has been declared to have "died for France", and thus remains unoccupied (official population: 0), as have the communes of Bezonvaux, Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Haumont-près-Samogneux, Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre and Cumières-le-Mort-Homme.
History
File:Fleury-devant-Douaumont 2019 xy5.jpg
During the war, the town was completely destroyed and the land rendered so uninhabitable that officials decided not to rebuild it. As the land around the municipality was polluted with corpses, ammunition, explosives and poisonous gas, it was deemed too contaminated for farming to resume. The site is maintained as a testimony to war and is officially designated as a "village that died for France." It is managed by a municipal council of three members appointed by the prefect of the Meuse department.
Before the war Fleury was a village of 422 engaged in agriculture and woodworking. Today, it is a wooded area next to the Verdun Memorial. Arrows guide visitors to where the streets and houses used to be.
See also
References
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{{Commons category|Fleury-devant-Douaumont}}
{{Meuse communes}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleurydevantdouaumont}}
Category:Communes of Meuse (department)
Category:Former populated places in France
Category:World War I sites in France
Category:Populated places destroyed during wars
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