Off at 0900 but our first stop at the ruins of the Abbey l’Ourscamp was only 5 km away.
Beautiful remains of what was a massive abbey founded in 1129. It was damaged and rebuilt over the centuries before being badly damaged during WW1.
We had a brief stop at the church at Tracy le Val. It is hard to comprehend how little was left of some of these villages after the first world war.
Next on the list for today was a visit to the clearing in the forest where the Armistice was signed on 11/11/1918.
A few hills to get here and then a detour as the bridge was down but well worth the extra few kilometres. The negotiations and signing were done in a railway car in a clearing made in the dense forest for that purpose.
In 1927 a memorial was erected here which housed the original railway car. Hitler used this same car to sign the French Armistice in 1940 before dismantling the monument. The central flagstone reads:
“Here on the eleventh of November 1918 succumbed the criminal pride of the German empire… vanquished by the free peoples which it tried to enslave.”
Hitler had these flagstones removed, however they were not destroyed but kept in Berlin and they were retrieved and reinstalled in 1946.
Last stop was the Imperial Palace in Compiegne. Enormous building that was used by both Louis XVI and Napolean. Opulent and with many rooms with the original decor it was one of 3 palaces used by the King. No wonder there was a revolution.
Route of todays ride – Pont l’Eveque to Compiegne – 47kms