The following article was published in July, 2013 in the Danvers Herald and other Wicked Local newspapers. To read this article on the Danvers Herald website, click here.
In Massachusetts, it is no surprise that many of the best tourist destinations revolve around Revolutionary War history and the people who fought to found our nation. Locals grow up learning from an early age that they live in the place that gave birth to America. The names Paul Revere and John Hancock become legends, their deeds have become lore and visitors from around the world now tread the ground they once walked.
Destinations where significant moments in war took place require a delicate balance between information and entertainment. How do you make visitors enjoy a visit to a place where hundreds or thousands of people died? How can someone understand the weight of a patch of grass, overgrown over time? What do you want visitors to tell people back home when they’re asked, ‘how was your trip?’” If the trip was to a battlefield, a gravesite or a concentration camp, the answer to that question may not be easily arrived at.
That does not mean, though, a war-related location should be avoided. On the contrary, they can add depth to a vacation that is otherwise flittering between beaches and amusement parks.
Monuments and memorials are everywhere but the actual locations where historical moments occurred, such as battlefields, offer the most significant experiences. The accessibility of these types of tourist stops is surprisingly easy.
The major conflicts that changed the course of history attract tourists from far and wide.
Boston and towns like Lexington and Concord where Minute Man National Historic Park & Battlefield is located, puts you on the same patches of gravel and grass where the American Revolution began in earnest.
The American Civil War has many buffs but you don’t need to be dressed in era garb to enjoy a visit to the battlefields of the mid-Atlantic and the South. About an hour west of Baltimore and northwest of Washington, D.C. is Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md.
Located in Maryland’s most visited Civil War region, Antietam is awe-inspiring because of its sheer size. The location played host to the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War and as you drive around the battlefield you imagine holding a line or retreating to the trees.
Antietam is full of bridges, fields and overlooks, all dotted with canons and hundreds of metal signs that tell the tales of skirmishes and soldiers, no matter what rank or side they fought on.
The value of war-related sites remains true outside the United States, as well.
Munich, Germany, is famous for its beer and rambunctious autumn festival, but a short bus ride outside the city brings you face to face with the heavy realities of World War II.
The solemnity of a visit to Dachau Concentration Camp may not strike the average tourist as a fun way to spend your afternoon in southern Germany. But the thoughtful visitor will make a side trip to Dachau and leave moved by its power and raw emotion.
There is an informative museum about Nazi concentration camps and the grounds themselves, open and devoid of much color, leave a most unimaginable impression. So many prisoners suffered and died on the stone dust paths that you explore; so much evil was built upon the bare stone building foundations. Words inscribed on a tomb and a memorial read “Never Again,” and “Never Forget.” You will not forget a visit to Dachau.
Many other World War II sites can of course be visited around Europe, in Germany and France. But France also has a war-related site that harkens back to its own revolution.
In Paris lies Les Invalides, home to the Army museum and other military-related exhibits and venues. However, Les Invalides should not be visited for what it is today. It should be visited because of what once happened there and who now calls it home.
Les Invalides was an armory. On the night French Revolutionaries stormed the Bastille, they first stormed this facility. They took from it ammunition and weapons used later to storm the Bastille and erupt the French Revolution into full-blown, bloody conflict. It’s historical and military significance is unrivaled.
But Les Invalides is also significant because of its most famous resident: Napolean Bonapart. His tomb is located in the central rotunda and is impossible to miss. In stark contrast to his short stature, this historic giant is laid to rest in an enormous wooden ark. It can be viewed both from above and below, making Napolean’s final resting place an awe-inspiring symbol of dominance, and Les Invalides a must-see.
Travel experiences to war-related locales are more personal, and that is where they truly hold their lure. Regardless of a site’s solemnity, the impact a war-related destination can have is different for everyone, sometimes immeasurable and almost always emotional. We travel for these experiences; and we remember the emotional ones the longest.
Mike Hartigan of Saugus, an alumnus of St. John’s Prep, is a writer and traveler looking for good story, wherever it takes. Follow along at www.whereverittakes.com or on Twitter @WhereverItTakes
Read more: http://www.wickedlocal.com/danvers/newsnow/x606650059/Wherever-It-Takes-War-related-destinations-are-worth-the-trip#ixzz2bOib7K4N
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