Musée du 5 juin 1944
Restored German command bunker in Tourcoing, where the BBC radio message “Verlaine” was decoded before the June 1944 landings.
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About the museum
In 1940, the headquarters of the German 15th Army settled in Tourcoing, in the residential district of the big textile industrialists. From September 1942, the Germans built some fifteen fortified buildings along the avenue de la Marne, including the command bunker that now houses the museum. A radio listening post set up on site monitored Allied transmissions and coordinated other posts in northern France.
On the evening of June 5, 1944, the Tourcoing listening post understood the second part of the BBC message, taken from a poem by Verlaine. It was the warning signal for the Resistance ahead of the Normandy landings. Headquarters was informed, but the German commanders did not act on this information.
The bunker has been open to the public since 1991. It is 32 meters long and 16 meters wide and has fifteen rooms with reinforced concrete walls two meters thick. Several rooms have been reconstructed (kitchen, the general’s office, telephone exchange, listening station). The museum also displays mannequins in period dress, a reconstructed civilian house, documents on the Occupation in the region and equipment from the radio war. An association under the French law of 1901 runs the site.
Highlights
- Command bunker of the German 15th Army, partly sunk into the ground, with two-meter-thick concrete walls
- Reconstructed rooms: kitchen, the general’s office, telephone exchange, listening station
- Direction-finding equipment of German, French (Vichy) and British origin
- Immersive room and scenes with mannequins in period dress
- Interior of a civilian house during the Occupation
Permanent exhibition
- Bunker de commandement de la 15e armée allemande – Visit to a restored bunker with reconstructed rooms, mannequins in period dress and equipment from the radio war.
- Founded
- 1991
- Operated by
- Association pour le Musée du 5 juin 1944 « Message Verlaine » (loi 1901)
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €6 |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | €4free up to age 9 · Single rate of €4 for ages 11 to 15; free for children under 10. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €5 per personGroups of 10 or more: €5 for a self-guided visit with audio guide, €7 with a guide and the immersive room. School groups from Tourcoing: €2.50 (primary school, collège) or €3 (lycée); from outside Tourcoing: €3 or €3.50. |
| Adult with guide and immersive room | €8 |
| Group (10 people or more) with guide and immersive room, per person | €7 |
| Escape game (ages 13 and up) | €14By reservation, on the dates announced |
The €6 rate covers a self-guided visit with audio guide for one adult.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
| Time needed | approx. 1.5 hrs |
|---|---|
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 9 |
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Pont Hydraulique · 4-min walk · 300 m
Tram: “Pont Hydraulique” stop; metro: “Carliers” stop.
The “Carliers” metro stop is 900 meters away, an 11-minute walk.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | The guides are volunteers; visits without a guide are also possible. Bring a warm layer, as it is cool inside the bunker. |
