In the 18th century, Nantes became the most important slave-trading port in France.
On a plant-covered walkway, 2,000 commemorative plaques remind the public of the slave ships that departed from Nantes as well as the major trading ports in Africa and America. A meditative promenade, marked with quotes on the subject of slavery from a variety of sources, runs alongside the Quai de Loire.
By inaugurating this memorial in 2012 – the only one of its kind in Europe – the city affirms its desire to “keep the memory of the past alive and let it be a warning for the future.” (K. Wodiczko and J. Bonder)
Krzysztof Wodiczko received the Hiroshima Art Prize in 1998, which rewards an artist for his/her contribution to world peace every year. Architect and teacher, Julian Bonder, is renowned for his work mixing public space, memory, and mass trauma experienced by populations.
The underground passage is open daily in free access : from 9 am to 8 pm from May 16 to September 15, and from 9 am to 6 pm from September 16 to May 14
Closed when the Loire is in flood.
Final entrance one half-hour before closing.
Annual site closures: January 1, May 1, November 1, December 25
Closed due to maintenance from 22 to 26 January 2024
Free access
