7. D-Day Museum Arromanches
D-Day Museum Arromanches, also known as the Musée du Débarquement in Arromanches, was the first museum to be constructed to represent the Allied invasion of Normandy. Located right in front of the first port which allowed the debarkation of 9,000 tons of material per day, the construction of the museum is said to have been financed by the auction of the wrecks littering the surrounding coastal area. It was inaugurated on 5 June 1954.
The museum together with another site build further West at Omaha Beach were the two sites chosen by the Allied forces to establish the necessary port facilities to unload quantities of supplies and troops needed for D-Day. With the British effecting the construction, they first needed to deploy a line of floating breakwaters (metal boxes in the form of a cross called Bombardons). They then build a pier by scuttling redundant freighters and aligning huge concrete caissons (about 1.600-6.000 tons). After immersing them on the appropriate spot, they were connected to the mainland by floating roads.
D-Day Museum Arromanches is a breathtaking place as it gives a strong sense of the tremendous effort and sacrifices involved in the Allied invasion to liberate Europe. When you visit the museum, you’ll learn how the artificial port facilities were constructed and used.