The town was first mentioned in 1183 as Viniarcum and was the scene of much fighting during the fourteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries among the French, English, Dutch and Spanish forces.

[6] 100 hectares (250 acres) of the former Vimy Ridge battlefield is preserved as part of the memorial park which surrounds the monument.

The grounds of the site are still honeycombed with wartime tunnels, trenches and craters, closed off for public safety.

King Edward VIII unveiled it on 26 July 1936 in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun and a crowd of over 50,000 including over 6200 Canadian veterans and their families.

[7] Following an extensive multi-year restoration, Queen Elizabeth II re-dedicated the monument on 9 April 2007 at a ceremony commemorating the 90th anniversary of the battle.