This year, we take possession of an exceptional site: «Les Carrières de Vassens».
A place still active, totally private and exceptionally open for this event organized by the ASAPE Association 14-18.
Rendezvous this SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2022 (European Heritage Day):
Two possible schedules:

• 10am to 2pm for quarry tour and BBQ participation (Aperitif + grilled ham + side dish + drinks + dessert)
  OR
• 12-14 pm for the barbecue followed by the visit of the quarry.
  Underground route (suitable for all) of 2.5kms to discover the traces and remains of the two world wars. Pack a good pair of shoes and a flashlight to make the most of this visit.
• The price is set at €12 for the public.
• Event is free for -15
• Places limited.
• Reservations required before 11-09-2022 on 06 37 07 37 18 or asape1418@gmail.com
• information & roadbook: available on our website http://www.asape14/18.fr
  A journey through time: LES CARRIERES DE VASSENS
  This is an exceptional visit to one of the largest quarries in the North of France offered by the ASAPE Association 14-18. They alone have no less than 200 km of underground galleries…
  Some trace the first farms back to the 12th century… Today, an operating company continues to extract several-ton blocks of stone underground before cutting them in its above-ground production facility.
  Remains of an old sea of 63 million years old, the limestone walls of the quarries of Vassens reveal the traces left by its occupants, whether civilian or military.
  The ASAPE 14-18 team will guide you on an underground route of 2.5Kms to discover these remains and rock tracks.
  The quarrymen are the first occupants of this underground cathedral. They will leave their thoughts and anecdotes on the current events. This rock heritage, offers a real open book on the last 200 years.
  In October 1914 the Germans invested the place to park the troop… It is here, after the retreat of the Marne, that both sides, (German and French) discover what will be their daily life for the next 3 years: The war of position.
  On the surface, the trenches will remain frozen for more than 3 years. Both sides buried themselves and at Vassens, the Germans did not deprive themselves of the vast underground spaces offered by the quarries.
  They will rename the 4 quarries that make up the network of Vassens: in the names of Totenwäldchen Höhle (Grove of the dead). Scheinwerfer Höhle (Projector Career, Anderten Höhle and Galgen Höhle.
  A few kilometres away from the front lines, the men find here a «relative» security during their rest. These quarries became a veritable underground city, with its command post, its high-voltage electricity network, its canteens and its infirmary.
  In 1918, the French occupied the place during the German withdrawal (Plan Alberich). The opportunity for them to also leave their names or regiments on the walls.
  In 1939, the Second World War did not spare our sector…
  The logistics of the transmission companies (704 and 751) saw in the vast rooms of the quarries of Vassens a formidable shelter for their fleets of vehicles.
  Once the surrender was signed, the Germans did not leave these quarries to be abandoned… They also invest them in a fleet of vehicles and equipment.
  These vast networks were even supposed to host «Hitler’s secret weapon»... The one that, according to him, was to make Germany a millennium Reich: These are the famous V2. (Vergeltungswaffen 2 ) – “Retaliatory Weapon No. 2”
  No less than 600 type V2 rockets were to be stationed at Vassens transformed into Nachschublager (Supply depot)
  Dive into local underground history guided by the passionate members of ASAPE 14-18 this Sunday, September 18, 2022 , From 9:15 am!