Mimoyecques’ Fortress is not only a Memorial site but also a remarkable protected Nature Reserve in “the Hauts-de-France.”
The chalk face, at the entrance , the underground galleries, the plateau on the top of the hill of the secret base , offers important nature resources for the Hauts-de-France area. All these patrimonies are directly linked to the history and the life of
the Fortress.
Winter house for bats
Bats are playing an important role on our territories. Insectivorous mammals, they can eat up to 3000 insects per day. In winter there is less food that’s why they hibernate. They take refuge in closed and damp sites and sleep , until next season. Mimoyecques’ Fortress is one of those sites. The temperature in the galleries is constant (around 10°), the hygrometry as well (more than 70%).Closed to the public, from mid-October to mid-April, the Fortress gives them the peace they need to hibernate in good conditions, thanks to the food reserve they have accumulated during the nice season. 350 bats and up to 11 species out of 22 known in the area hibernate in the galleries every winter. 3 of which are remarkable species:” le Murin des marais”, “le Grand Rhinolophe”, “ Murin à oreilles échancrées”.
For this reason, Mimoyecques’ Fortress is a major winter site in the region of “Hauts-de France” in terms of protection of these animals which are very fragile and threatened.
Along, the seasons ,bats are very mobile. In winter they stay in close and calm shelters, at spring and in summer hot and peaceful places (attics for example) not far from an area where they can find food to bread their babies (grassland, dump areas, hedges), in autumn open spaces, to breed. Unfortunatly the disappearance of those places and of a lot of insects is a real threat for them. On another way their presence on the” Boulonnais” territory means that there is a diversity and ecological landscape to preserve , conducive to their development and to every living being.
A Regional historical geological part
The geology of our region apprehends more than 400 million years of our planet history. Mimoyecques’ Fortress is an example. Dug in the chalk landscape from the “Cambrésis” to” Cap Blanc- Nez”, Mimoyecques Fortress allow a
pedagogical reading of the rocks which compose it: chalk , flint, marl which revealed part of the history 90 million years ago when the sea was covering our region and a part of Europe.The study of the rocks present on Mimoyecques and on other Regional and international sites helps the scientists to learn more about this sea called “mer de la craie” and its history.
The hillside an environment rich in life
On the top of the Fortress, there used to be fields. Due to the intense bombardments in 1944 to destroy the site, the activity could not recover at the end of the war. Little by little a return to the nature has operated. Indeed, even if it is relatively not too thick and exposed to the wind and the sun, the ground is favorabl and medical plants (thym,organo, aubepin,edelberry) full of nectariferous resources. A lot of insects can flourish on the hillside as they find very good conditions there. It is the same for the birds who really appreciate the configuration of the place: herbaceous zone ,nice
edges(bay, insects).When the spring comes the hillside comes alive: wild bees, butterflies,locusts,green lizard…
A protected patrimony that stays accessible.
Since 2008, Mimoyecques’ Fortress is the property of the ‘Conservatoire d’espaces naturels des Hauts-de-France”an association working to preserve the nature and the landscape of our region. Join us on: www.cen-hautsdefrance.org
The natural wealth of this site is guaranteed thanks to the entrance and the underground galleries, they are classified as a Nature Reserve established in 2012 by la “Région des Hauts-de-France “. This classification is a recognition of the Fortress for our natural environment.
The close collaboration with the team of the ‘Conservatoire” , the Region, the “Communauté de communes de La terre des 2 Caps” and the “Commune de Landrethun-le-Nord”provides a balance between the memory duty and the conservatory within the Fortress.
As it’s a private property, the hillside is only open to guided tours, organized by la CCT2C or the” Conservatoire”.