La Coupole, Giant dome in Helfaut
La Coupole is a museum in Helfaut housed within a massive concrete dome that was built as a V2 rocket launch facility during World War II. The building contains exhibitions and documentary presentations that trace the site's use across different periods.
The facility was built in 1943 as a V2 rocket launch base by the Organisation Todt for the Nazi regime. After the war, the site was abandoned and later converted into a museum that documents this complex past.
The museum's exhibits are organised around three themes: the German occupation of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the V-weapons, and the history of spaceflight. The site's name comes from the 71-metre concrete dome above the tunnels, and the former quarry between Helfaut and Wizernes gives the complex its second name, Coupole d'Helfaut-Wizernes.
The site lies in a former chalk quarry between Helfaut and Wizernes, about 5 km from Saint-Omer and roughly 1 km from Wizernes station. Visits combine the exhibition halls in the tunnels with the space under the dome, so plan for several hours and wear walking shoes. The tunnels stay cool, and parts of the route involve slopes and uneven ground.
The dome was never finished: Allied bombing during Operation Crossbow kept the site from entering service, and it was captured in September 1944 before completion. The 71-metre, 5-metre-thick concrete shell, weighing 55,000 tons, therefore never protected a single launch.
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