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Atlantic Wall open-air museum

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Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum
Openluchtmuseum Atlantikwall
Preserved Observation Post at the Museum.
Near Ostend, Belgium
Near Ostend, Belgium
Location within Belgium
LocationRaversijde, West Flanders, Belgium
TypeMilitary Museum
OwnerDomein Raversijde
Nearest car parkOn site
Websitewww.west-vlaanderen.be

The Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum (Dutch: Openluchtmuseum Atlantikwall) is a military museum near Oostende in Belgium which preserves fortifications of the Atlantic Wall dating to the First and Second World Wars. The section of fortifications owned by the museum - over 60 bunkers and two miles of trenches - is among the best preserved sections of the defensive line in Europe. The fortifications survive because they were built on land belonging to Prince Charles, Count of Flanders who decided that they should not be destroyed after the war, but be kept as a national monument.

The Museum

First World War

During the German Occupation during the First World War, the Aachen Battery was built in the land which is part of the museum. Though it is not as well preserved as the later fortifications in the museum, it is rare for fortifications of this period to survive in Belgium.

Second World War

The majority of the preserved bunkers and trenches at the site date to the construction of the Atlantic Wall during the German occupation of Belgium during the Second World War. During the war, numerous fortifications were constructed on the site, including the well preserved Saltzwedel neu Battery to defend the nearby port of Oostende from allied invasion. Several of the fortifications have been renovated to the condition they were in during the war and include several displays of uniforms and equipment worn by the garrison.

  • Display of First World War German equipment and uniforms in one of the shelters in the Aachen Battery
    Display of First World War German equipment and uniforms in one of the shelters in the Aachen Battery
  • A captured Belgian Army 120 mm gun used as a battery gun in a dedicated circular parapet.
    A captured Belgian Army 120 mm gun used as a battery gun in a dedicated circular parapet.
  • PAK 40 anti-tank gun inside a restored bunker
    PAK 40 anti-tank gun inside a restored bunker
  • Mounted rangefinder.
    Mounted rangefinder.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Openluchtmuseum Atlantikwall.
  • "Domein Raversijde "The open-air museum Atlantic Wall"". tracesofwar.com. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
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