Day 3

On Wednesday morning the students and teachers from Bergskolan, Örnässkolan and College Pilâtre de Rozier gathered at the College in the morning. At 9 AM we were picked up and taken by bus to the historical site of the Battle of Verdun.

After a bus ride that took a little over an hour through the beautiful countryside we arrived at the Memorial de Verdun museum. For about an hour we were able to tour this extensive and brand new museum dedicated entirely to the battle of Verdun in 1916.

The museum gave us a good overview and introduction to the history and events that unfolded there during the First World War. There were many actual artifacts from the battle, a large 3D exhibition with sound and video from the actual battlefield, authentic letters from soldiers on the front etc. it was a very interesting, moving and profound experience.

Around noon we ate our sack lunches in a pick nick area close to the museum. For the first time during our trip so far the sun broke through the clouds and we had very warm and sunny weather the rest of the afternoon.

After lunch we were joined by a local guide, history teacher and expert on the First World War. He guided us around the historical battle field, the Fort de Douaumont, the Mémorial de Verdun and the "ghost village of Fleury-Devant-Douaumont.

The battle of Verdun lasted just 10 months between February and December 1916 but claimed a staggering 700 000 dead or injured. The cemetery at Mémorial de Verdun hosts over 16 000 marked graves while the Ocillary de Verdun (the actual monument of the battle) contains the remains of more than 35 000 unidentified German and French soldiers.

The visit toVerdun was a powerful experience for all of us. The tragedy of war, before only known to most of us through history books, came alive and became very concrete visiting the battlefield and cemetery.

At about 4 PM we thanked the guide and headed back to the College by bus along windy roads and through picturesque villages on the hillsides. It was very difficult to picture this beautiful and serene countywide being the site of such horrific calamity precisely one hundred years ago.

When we arrived back at the College around 5 PM the Swedish students returned to their respective host families for dinner