La Coupole

Om

In 1943, the Germans began developing an unused chalk quarry into a launch site for the V-2 rockets against southern England. The site was heavily bombed as part of Allied efforts to inhibit Germany’s long-range capabilities, and never completed. After being captured in 1944, Winston Churchill ordered it partially demolished to prevent its reuse as a military base. The bunker remained abandoned until mid-1990s when it was opened to the public as a museum. Visitors have their choice of two exhibition circuits: the Rex Circuit traces the work of Wernher von Braun, the German engineer behind the V2 rocket, which eventually led to the Space Race and man's first steps on the moon. The Cinéac Circuit covers the Occupation, including the invasion, Resistance, and Liberation.