WW1 Museums on the Yser Battlefields & Belgian Coast, Belgium
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Dodengang/Trench of Death Interpretation Centre
Ijzerdijk (at junction with Dodengangstraat), 8600 Diksmuide
51.045794
2.843002
Latitude N 51° 2' 44.85" ; Longitude E 2° 50' 34.80"
This is the site of the only remaining original section of WW1 Belgian Army trenches. The interpretation centre was refurbished for the 2014-2018 Centenary.
There are 15 interactive applications, film footage and over 100 objects. Find out about the stories of the men who lived in this part of the front line. Walk over a giant aerial photograph showing the landscape of this area then and now.
Opening Hours:
From 1 April daily: 10.00-17.00 hours (last admission 16.30 hours)
16 November - 31 March: Tuesdays & Fridays 09.30 - 16.00 hours (last admission 15.30 hours)
Closed 25 December - 3 January
Address: Ijzerdijk 65, 8600 Diksmuide (GPS: enter Ijzerdijk 62)
Email: dodengang.diksmuide@warheritage.be
Website: bezoekdiksmuide.be Dodengang
Telephone: +32 (0)51 50 53 44
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Fortress of Breendonk National Memorial
Brandstraat 57, 2830 Willebroek (by car: Rijksweg or Dendermondsesteenweg 305, 307 or 309 in Willebroek)
51.057074
4.341574
Latitude N 51° 3' 27.075" ; Longitude E 4° 20' 30.138"
Due to Covid-19 there are safety measures in place and a time slot must be booked for a visit. See the website for full details on how to book and prepare for your visit.
Construction of the fort was started in 1909. It was bombarded for the first time on 1 October 1914 by heavy German artillery under the command of General von Beseler.
Von Beseler was under instruction to take Antwerp and from the night of 27/28 September 1914 it was under siege. The fort was bombarded by over 500 shells over the following days. On 9 October the fort was captured by the German Army.
The Fort was used during the German occupation in the Second World War as an SS Camp. Breendonk Fort was designated as a National Memorial on 19 August 1947. There are exhibitions, educational programmes and guided visits.
Opening hours:
- Wednesday to Sunday inclusive 10.00 - 16.00 hrs (last admission: 14.00 hrs)
- Closed 1 January, Pilgrimage Day (September), 24, 25 & 31 December
Address: Brandstraat 57, 2830 Willebroek
Email: info@breendonk.be
Website: www.breendonk.be
Telephone: +32 (0)3 860 75 25
Breendonk Fort photo licensed under Creative Commons. (1)
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IJzertoren
IJzerdijk 49, 8600 Diksmuide
51.031747
2.852336
Latitude N 51° 1' 54.29" ; Longitude E 2° 51' 8.41"
Due to Covid-19 there are safety measures in place and a time slot must be booked for a visit. See the website for full details on how to book and prepare for your visit.
The tower was built to commemorate the Belgian soldiers who had fought and died on the Yser/IJzer battlefront, a large proportion of whom were Flemish.
The tower was built with a crypt where 30 fallen Flemish soldiers were placed. The first IJzer Tower was built in 1928 and inaugurated on 24 August 1930. On the night of 15 March 1946 the tower was blown up by people unhappy about the collaboration of some Flemish people during the Nazi occupation. The Paxpoort (Peace Gate) at the site was built using rubble from the first tower.
A new tower was started in 1951 and finished in 1965. The tower was refurbished and reopened in 2014. It is 84 metres high with 22 floors housing the Museum of the IJzer.
Opening Hours: Visit the museum website for hours of opening.
Address: Ijzerdijk 49, 8600 Diksmuide
Email: info@aandeijzer.be
Website: www.museumaandeijzer.be
Telephone: +32 (0)51 50 02 86
Photograph: "IJzertoren" by Willemdd from nl. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IJzertoren.jpg#/media/File:IJzertoren.jpg
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Lange Max Museum
Koekelare (30 kilometres north of Ypres)
51.116853
2.982252
Latitude N 51° 7' 0.663" ; Longitude E 2° 58' 56.657"
A museum opened in 2014 at the remains of the platform of the big German cannon called “Lange Max”.
This gun was designed to bombard Dunkirk. Situated behind the German lines north of the Ypres Salient the museum tells the story of life and the military organisation behind the lines for the German troops here.
Opening Hours: Visit the website for hours of opening.
For full information to plan your visit go to the museum website or contact the museum by email or telephone:
Address: Lange Max Museum, Clevenstraat 2, 8680 Koekelare
Telephone: Gerdi Staelens +32 (0)475 - 58 50 51
Email: info@langemaxmuseum.be
Website: www.langemaxmuseum.be
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Westfront Nieuwpoort Visitor Centre
Nieuwpoort
51.135915
2.755444
Latitude N 51° 8' 9.29" ; Longitude E 2° 45' 19.59"
Opened in October 2014 the visitor centre is located at the site of the King Albert I Monument and the Ganzepoot (Goose Foot) lock complex.
The centre tells the story of the defence by the Belgian Army in the autumn of 1914 and the deliberate flooding of the Yser (Ijzer) river plain to halt the German advance.
Opening Hours: Visit the museum website for hours of opening.
Address: Bezoekerscentrum Westfront, Kustweg 2, 8620 Nieuwpoort
Email: info@westfrontnieuwpoort.be
Website: www.westfrontnieuwpoort.be
Telephone: + 32 (0)58 23 07 33
Related Topic
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The King Albert I Memorial is located at Nieuwpoort, close to the lock system that was opened in October 1914 to flood the plain and stop the German advance.
Monuments on the Yser Battlefields & the Belgian Coast
Acknowledgements
(1) Photo of Breendonk. Used under license of Creative Commons:
Website: www.commons.wikimedia.org
