The museum
What this
museum is
about ?
The rocky spur formed by the valleys of the Meuse River and the Hoyoux was occupied
at a very early stage. Historians talk about fortifications built by Antonin-le-Pieux,
St. Jean l'Agneau and Basin de Valois. The first written traces were found in
a document dating from 890.
In the course of time the Fort gained in star.tegic importance. It was an outpost
for the Principality of Liège and defended access to the Meuse valley. In the
17th century, the fort was a strong defense site which extended westward from
the present spur via the Tardavisée tower, the Red fort, the Picard fort and
the Joseph fort, and the site of La Sarte.
The end of the
17th century was a sad period for Huy and its fort. The wars fought by Louis
XIV caused a series of sieges and great destruction. In
1715,
the
treaty of La Barrière brought
this
suffering to an end, and the people of Huy began to demolish their own fortifications.
The rocky peak remained UNOCCUPIED for a full century.
The first stone of the present fort was laid under the Dutch reign in 1818.
It
costed 1,120,000 Florins and took five years
to
build. The fort is 148 meters long on the Meuse side, its other sides measure
107 and 44 meters respectively. It is 45 meters above the River.
The Kampfgruppe's offensive in the Region has gone down as a terrible tragedy
in
the annals of history as a result of 84 American prisoners being machine gunned
and killed at Baugnez/Malmedy crossroads.
The fort was no used between 1831 and 1848. In 1848 it became a state PRISON.
Seventeen people who had been arresteed during the "Risquons-tout" (let's risk
everything)- rising were imprisoned n the fort. The last of these prisoners left
Huy in 1855. In 1876 the fort was integrated into the defense system of the Meuse.
As it had not been modernised properly, the Germans were able to take it without
a fight in 1914. The German occupiers set up a discipline camp for their own
troops.
In
1932, the Ministry of Defense gve the authorisation to use the fort
as a TOURIST attraction. From May 1940 onward, for four and a half
years, the fort was used by the Nazis as a PRISON. Seven thousand Belgians
and foreigners were put there. Ten died of maltreatment, five were
executed by a firing squad. The fort of Huy was one of the main "sorting
centres" for prisoners before they were sent to death camps.
On
September 5, 1944 after the last German had led, the fort was occupied
by the Belgian Resistance to imprison collaborators. Since December
31, 1946 it has been a memorial to those dark years. The state handed
it over to the town on April 16, 1973.
Visitors
to the fort will have the opportunity to study a defense system as
it was built in the early 19th century: guns pillboxes, underground
passages, barracks, ... They can also admire the well of the old castle
dating back to Erard de la Marck (16th century). They will be even
more impressed by the souvenirs of the concentration camps era: cells,
dark dungeons for solitary confinement, Gestapo INTERROGATION ROOM,
rudimentary washing facilities ...
Origins of the museum
The museum has been setup by the local authorities of the city of
Huy with the Belgian Association of Young People for Remembranceof
the
two World Wars.
The museum features eleen rooms with nearl 150 informative panels,
30 display cases, a library containing over 1,500 works bringing
to life
the tragic events which marked our recent history and trying to
make visitors realize which price was paid for saving our freedom.
Museum authorities
can be contacted here.
The website of this museum stands here, another interesting website stands there.
Location information
The museum is located
in Huy:
Office of Tourism
1, Quai de Namur
4500 Huy
Belgium
Tel/Fax: +32 (0) 85 21 19 15
Opening Hours : Each day from April to October from 9.00 AM to 18.00
PM (last entrance at 17.00 PM).
Personal note
This Fortification includes many items including real prison cells and
a splendid panoramic view of the City from the top of the Fort (you will
meet there many lovers enjoying the view but having no interest in WW2,
one can understand their preference for romance :-)). There are many
rooms
to
visit, foresee
at least 2 hours (three are recommended).
You have the choice: either you enter the fort by foot via a forest (15
minutes walk) or you use at another predefined location a cable railway
which brings you directly at the top of the fort (being in this case
just a
kind of
original
"bus
stop"). This is a museum I discovered by chance a few kilometers from
my home and much bigger than a few others I visited abroad.
Toilets are free but parking is not possible inside the fort. Foresee
warm clothes as long as you stay inside the fort since it is rather cold.
You will see in my set of photos about this museum the flag of the Vught
camp in Holland, take also the opportunity to visit my photos of Vught
concentration camp.
