Here’s a fort that blends in with the stone so much that it’s hard to distinguish between them. This is Huy Fort. Proud and powerful, it sits regally on the heights, silently recalling past battles and the town’s history.
Built by the Dutch between 1818 and 1823 on the site of an old castle, which itself was built on the ruins of a fortified castle, Huy fort has never lost its stature. It doesn’t just seem large, it seems as huge as a cruise liner. From up there, the town spreads out, espousing the curve of the hills, offering a splendid panorama while the fort is punctuated by temporary exhibitions, events and shows that are organised on a regular basis. However, it’s above all the location’s dark past that gives it all its importance...
Duty of remembrance
Huy Fort was transformed into a detention camp by the German army from May 1940 to September 1944. In total, more than 7,000 prisoners were incarcerated there. You enter this prison from your first footsteps behind the enormous double door. A long, dark corridor and here you are walking through isolation cells, interrogation rooms and rudimentary washrooms, that tell you all about the living conditions of the prisoners and population under the Occupation. Then comes the testimony from survivors of this painful period through an audio-visual documentary. Powerful emotions make this museum of the resistance and concentration camps a place truly dedicated to the memory of the Second World War.
Copyright pictures: Visit Ardenne / Visit Wallonia
