The French National Necropolis of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette

In the aftermath of the First World War, the hill of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette was chosen by the French government to house the remains of French soldiers from more than 150 cemeteries on the Artois, Flanders, Yser and Belgian fronts. 20,000 graves, as well as the remains of 22,000 unknown soldiers grouped in 8 ossuaries, are gathered there. Notre-Dame-de-Lorette is the largest French national necropolis. A basilica and a lantern tower were built there. At the foot of the lantern tower, a crypt contains 32 coffins of unknown soldiers from all the French wars of the 20th century.

After the war, the French government undertook the construction of vast necropolises where each visitor could see the extent of the sacrifice made by the nation. At Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, on the plateau where a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette stood before the war, the small cemetery created after the battle of May 1915 by the French soldiers was chosen as the site for the development of a vast necropolis, where the remains from more than 150 cemeteries on the Artois, Flanders, Yser and Belgian fronts would be received. 20,000 identified bodies will be given individual burial and the remains of nearly 22,000 unknowns will be grouped in 8 ossuaries. Lorette thus became the largest French national necropolis.