Attractions and Places To See around Chavonne - Top 20

This large German war cemetery is located near Fort de La Malmaison, along the Chemin des Dames. It was established in 1941 by the Wehrmacht to centralize scattered graves from the Aisne region. After the war, the site was officially recognized by a Franco-German convention in 1954 and solemnly inaugurated in 1965. Nearly 11,850 German soldiers rest here, primarily fallen during the 1940 campaign and the fighting after the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944. Between 1960 and 1961, over 6,800 bodies were reburied from six surrounding departments. The cemetery is sober and serene, with rows of dark crosses and a memorial stone. It serves as a silent reminder of the fierce fighting in this region and is an important stop on remembrance routes along the Chemin des Dames.

Louis Astoul: Along the D18 on the Chemin des Dames, between Cerny-en-Laonnois and the Caverne du Dragon, stands a modest monument to Louis Astoul, a young French second lieutenant in the 70th regiment of tirailleurs sénégalais. He was killed on 16 April 1917, on the first day of the disastrous Nivelle Offensive, at the age of just 24. The monument honours not only him, but also his comrades – mostly colonial soldiers from West Africa – who gave their lives in this region in the hope of a breakthrough that never came. Astoul was reported missing near the village of Paissy, and his body was never found. Today, this memorial recalls the often forgotten role of colonial troops in the Great War, and the personal drama behind the great history.

During the First World War, Cerny-en-Laonnois was a strategic point along the Chemin des Dames, a ridge fiercely contested by French and German troops. In September 1914, the village was taken by the Germans, who used it as a defensive post. They dug deep underground networks in the limestone, which served as shelters and munitions stores. In the spring of 1917, the area became the scene of the Nivelle Offensive, a large-scale French attack that resulted in heavy losses and eventually led to mutinies within the French army. Cerny-en-Laonnois was completely destroyed by artillery fire and fighting. After the war, the village was rebuilt a little further south. Today, the military cemeteries, the memorial chapel and the “Lanterne des Morts” bear witness to the immense human suffering that took place here.

Ailette Lake is a haven of tranquility surrounded by greenery. Its calm and clear waters invite you to relax, whether for a stroll along the lake, a canoe trip or a picnic break. The preserved natural setting offers magnificent views of the surrounding wooded hills and the developed beaches.

great hike on foot and by mountain bike. see hiking the mountains of Missy see you in 2025. To discover .

For a brief stopover

Such places – usually referred to as "war cemeteries" or "military cemeteries" – are still very important today as memorials to the countless war dead. "Now let your servant, Lord, depart in peace, as you have promised..." reads the so-called "Song of Simeon" (Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verse 29). The many people buried here, however, by no means departed in peace, but became victims of war and inhuman tyranny. The most important and at the same time eternal function of military or honor cemeteries, or war cemeteries, is therefore to keep the memory of this suffering alive and – every generation anew (!) – to admonish to the lasting preservation of peace.

These 19th-century forts had already lost their invincibility in the second half of the century and were more of a "belt of remnants" that no longer played a major strategic role. It was only when the Chemin des Dames became a deadlock as a front area that they became relevant again for a short time. Here you can feel this survived history well, the cellar-like bunkering on the mountain. Almost a small green overgrown labyrinth today....