Leaning House

Modane

Just outside Modane, towards Valfréjus, the "maison penchée" (leaning house) lives up to its name. Inside this blockhouse, dynamited by the Germans in 1944, you can defy the laws of balance!

Description

Built in 1939, the leaning house was originally an observation and defense blockhouse for the entrance of the Mont-Cenis railway tunnel, which was put into service in 1881. In 1944, during the German withdrawal, this blockhouse was dynamited by two wagons filled with explosives at the entrance of the tunnel. It literally jumped to fall back a little further almost intact, but not really horizontally...