Caserne Ney

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Barracks gate according to the French description in 1915. The uniforms, however, indicate the time before the start of the war in 1914.
Detail of the left relief

The Caserne Ney (also Caserne du génie - during the time when the realm of Alsace-Lorraine belonged to the German Empire , called Kaiser Wilhelm-Kaserne ) is a military property in Metz .

Historical

In the first half of the 19th century, Metz was a common garrison town with several barracks. Since 1720, however, it also housed the "École d'application de l'artillerie et du génie" (artillery and pioneer school).

Building history and location

Considerations about merging the various objects then led to the construction of a central pioneer barracks on a square (today Place de la République) in the city center on the edge of the arsenal . The leveling work began in 1833, but the construction work did not begin until 1841 and was finished in 1844. Colonel Firmin-Claude Parnajon was responsible for the construction . Hewn stone blocks were used as building material.

The complex forms a “U” open to the east, 170 meters long and 95 meters wide. In 1854 the brothers Antoine and Francois-Desiré Husson, as well as Gustave Hennequin created the sculptures that are still on the outside of the two gate buildings. The barracks was named after the Marshal of France Michel Ney , but colloquially it was also called "Caserne du Génie".

The complex is delimited by “Avenue Ney” in the north, “Rue du Général Gaston Dupuis” in the west, “Avenue Schuman” in the south and “Rue Maréchal Lyautoy” in the east.

Further use

After Metz fell to Germany as a result of the war of 1870/71 , German troops occupied the barracks, which were then renamed "Kaiser Wilhelm-Kaserne" in honor of Wilhelm I. It was occupied by the 1st and 2nd Battalions of Infantry Regiment No. 130. After the end of the First World War , it fell back to the French army in 1919, only to be seized by the Wehrmacht after the beginning of the French campaign in 1940 . The French who returned in 1944 took possession of the property again. The barracks are still used today as a facility for the “Service d'infrastructure de la défense” (Metz site administration) and as an information center and recruiting office.

The reliefs on the gate, representing military trophies , were added to the "List of Historic Monuments" (Monuments historique) on October 24, 1929.

Web links

Commons : Kaiser Wilhelm-Kaserne (Metz)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

proof

  1. ↑ Marcel Grosdidier de Matons, Nouveau guide de Metz , Metz, 1936, (p. 15)
  2. ↑ Entry no. PA00106816 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)

literature

  • JJ Barbé, "Les auteurs des deux bas-reliefs de la caserne du Génie à Metz", dans Les Cahiers Lorrains , 1927, pp. 59-60.

Coordinates: 49 ° 6 ′ 49 ″  N , 6 ° 10 ′ 16 ″  E