_Arriving by the Rue d'Amiens, tourists will see the cascade, on the
right behind a_ ruined factory.
[Illustration: ALBERT CHURCH IN 1919.]
[Illustration: RUINED WORKS ON RIVER ANCRE, AND CASCADE.]
_Follow the Rue d'Amiens to the Place d'Armes, in which stand_ the
ruins of the =Church of Nôtre-Dame-de-Brebière=. Before the war as
many as 80,000 people made pilgrimages to this basilica yearly, to see
the ancient statue of the Virgin, discovered in the neighbourhood by a
shepherd, in the Middle-Ages.
The church--a brick-and-stone construction in the Roman-Byzantine
style--was built at the end of the nineteenth century. The brick
belfry, over 200 feet high, was surmounted by a copper dome, on which
stood a gilt statue of the Virgin, sixteen feet high, with the infant
Jesus in her outstretched arms. The body of the church measured 276
feet in length and 68 feet in height, and was very richly decorated.
The church was spared by the first bombardments, on account of two
spies who, hidden in the top of the tower, made signals to the Germans,
but as soon as they had been discovered and shot, the church became a
target for the enemy artillery. The walls of the façade soon showed
large gaps in many places. The roof fell in and the belfry was badly
damaged, especially on the south side. A shell struck the top of the
dome and burst against the socle of the statue of the Virgin. The base
gave way, but did not entirely collapse, and the statue overturning
remained suspended in mid-air _(photo, p. 34)_.
For several years the statue remained in this precarious position, and
there was a saying that "the war would end when the Virgin Statue of
Albert would fall."
The bombardments in the spring of 1918 completed the ruin of the
church. Not only did the belfry collapse, carrying in its fall the
statue of the Virgin, but all the upper structure which had until then
resisted, fell down, so that to-day the immense building is a shapeless
heap of stones, bricks and _débris_ of all kinds _(photo, p. 34)_.
[Illustration: LA BOISSELLE. THE SIGN IS ALL THAT REMAINS OF THE
VILLAGE.]
_Leave Albert by the Rue de Bapaume, then take N. 29 which_ climbs La
Boisselle Hill. _2 km. beyond Albert_ there is a large cemetery _on
the right_. The site of Boisselle village (completely destroyed) _is
reached 2 km. further on_.