You go down one step, then another, then another… The daylight disappears gradually as you descend… The air grows cooler, the darkness surrounds you, and silence reigns. You are in the depths of the Caverne du Dragon.

The Caverne du Dragon, or Drachenhöhle

During the First World War, from early 1915 onwards, German troops invaded a stone quarry that had been exploited starting in the 16th century, on the Chemin des Dames in the Aisne Department. The cavern was more than just a makeshift shelter. In fact it quickly became a strategic military location.
One of the legends that may have inspired the Germans to call it the Dragon's Cavern is the presence of weapons at each of the seven entrances, ready to breathe fire like a seven-headed dragon.
The machine guns are in place. The enemy target: French soldiers… The Drachenhöhle has just been born, and blood is already being spilled.


War 15 metres below ground…

During the war, former stone quarries were often converted for use by the army, particularly in the Aisne plateaux in the Soisson region. When German soldiers won the Caverne du Dragon from the French, they gained the upper hand. The Cavern was a strategic location, from which surprise attacks and retreats could be made on the Chemin des Dames, a ridge road overlooking the Aisne and Ailette valleys. Protected from the cold, despite the severe dampness, the Germans converted the Cavern into a veritable barracks with sniper positions and electricity. While the dead were piling up in the trenches, the Germans were creating an extensive camp in the underground galleries, including dormitories, a chapel, a well, a first-aid station and even a cemetery. In addition to serving as protection against gunfire and gas attacks, the stone walls were adorned with the souvenirs of the soldiers at rest, such as drawings and messages written in candle soot and other engravings. To while away the time, some soldiers carved objects from bullets and spent shells.

On June 25, 1917, shortly after the tragic failure of the Nivelle Offensive, French soldiers scored a victory by taking back the Caverne du Dragon. Little by little, they pushed the Germans deeper into the cavern. From July to October 1917, the two enemy camps set up their internal borders, each side on constant guard against surprise attacks. The slightest noise in the cavern could mean the enemy was sneaking up.

   >

The Cavern Today

In 1920, the Caverne du Dragon became a tourist site and war memorial, visited initially by candlelight and then by carbide lamp.
On May 4, 1969, at the initiative of Henri de Benoist, president of the Jeune Chambre Economique de Laon, Gérard de Francqueville, representing the Souvenir Français, and Maurice Bruaux, Director of the Tourist Board of the Aisne, a new museum was inaugurated in the Cavern, in the presence of the Minister of Scientific Research, Robert Galley.

In 1995, the Souvenir Français handed over management of the Cavern to the County Council of the Aisne for a period of 30 years. At that time the museographical design was updated. Catherine Trautmann, Minister of Culture and Communication toured the renovated site on November 5, 1998.
On July 5, 1999, the Caverne du Dragon was re-opened to the public, and thanks to its reputation it quickly became the most visited museum in the Aisne Department.

Combining secular underground galleries and contemporary scenography, the Caverne du Dragon highlights the elements of a past steeped in memories. Using modern animation techniques, objects, sound and image archive material and video footage, the Caverne du Dragon gives visitors an inside look at the hellish daily lives of World War I soldiers on the front.