Ieper (Ypres), Belgium
Ieper (previously known as Ypres) is an ancient city located in the Flemish province of West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen) in the Westhoek region of Belgium. Soon after the outbreak of The Great War of 1914-1918 the peaceful way of life in this part of Flanders was shattered by the arrival of massed military forces and their destructive weapons of war.
Soldiers arriving in the town with the British Army in the autumn of 1914 soon renamed the town from it's French name at the time of Ypres to “Wipers”.
By the end of the war the entire city lay in ruins, with only a handful of buildings left standing. It is astonishing to think that virtually the whole of the old city was reconstructed stone by stone, brick by brick during the 1920's and 1930's.
There is more information on Ieper's history from the origins of the town to the part it played in the First World War in: History of Ypres
Things to see in Ieper
Despite the devastation of the city by 1918 much of the rebuilt Ieper is identical to the original one in many places. There are plenty of sites of historical interest to see in and around Ieper, including those which have a special relevance to the First World War.
Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle)
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The Cloth Hall, called the Lakenhalle in Flemish, is situated in the heart of the city on the market place, the Grote Markt. As a result of German artillery shelling from the autumn of 1914 the magnificent medieval building was reduced to piles of rubble by the end of the war. Rebuilt stone by stone the Cloth Hall now houses the city's official function rooms, the Tourist Office and the award-winning In Flanders Fields museum.
The Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle)The Market Square (Grote Markt)
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The market square is surrounded by buildings, including the Cloth Hall, in the medieval and renaissance architectural style typical of Flanders. There are shops, hotels, restaurants and cafés, making it a busy and attractive centre for locals and visitors alike in the heart of the city.
The Market Square (Grote Markt)The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing
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The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is one of four British and Commonwealth memorials to all the overseas British and Commonwealth forces who fell in the Ypres Salient and who have no known grave. The Menin Gate commemorates 54,896 officers and men killed in the Ypres Salient before 16th August 1917.
Every evening at 20:00 members of the Ieper volunteer fire brigade sound Last Post and Reveille under the arch of the memorial gate.
The Menin Gate Hear Last Post and Reveille at the Menin GateFortifications: Ramparts and Moat
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the early settlement of Ypra was protected by the Ieperlee river on the west and by earthworks on the north, east and south. As the town developed over the centuries its people experienced numerous changes of rulers. Fortifications grew in size and feats of engineering to keep out the invaders.
At the end of the 17th century major work was carried out by Sebastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban (1633-1707), the famous French military engineer. Before the First World War some of the Vauban fortifications had been removed. Those that remained on the eastern and southern boundaries of the town were used by the French and British Armies to provide protection against German artillery shelling.
During the war a lighthearted view of the fighting in the Ypres Salient was produced in a journal called the “Wipers Times”. It was produced on a printing press set up in the ramparts by soldiers of the British Army.
Lille Gate (Rijselpoort)
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The round towers of the Lille Gate are the oldest surviving part of the stone ramparts, dating from 1385 and the Burgundian period of the city's history. The bridge over the gateway was added during later modifications to the city's fortifications.
The Lille Gate is also a water gate, as the river Ieperlee springs from a lock gate under the western round tower and flows under the city from south to north through a vaulted waterway.
The Lille Gate still bears five original Imperial War Graves Commission direction signs to 13 British and Commonwealth military cemeteries in the southern Ypres Salient.
Ramparts Cemetery, Lille Gate
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Ramparts Cemetery is located on the ramparts to the west of the Lille Gate. The cemetery can be accessed from the Rijselsestraat along a short path named “Rose Coombs Walk”.
Rose Coombs Walk
The late Rose Coombs was a First World War historian who worked at the Imperial War Museum in London. Her father had served in the First World War and the city of Ypres was very special to her. In the 1970s Rose wrote the guidebook to the First World War battlefields entitled “Before Endeavours Fade”. This guide has been reprinted and updated several times since and is perhaps the most well known and easy to use guidebooks for the Western Front (see Further Reading at the bottom of this page). It has been the first introduction to touring the battlefields for many thousands of visitors over the last thirty years.
Ramparts CemeteryMarkets: Fish, Butter and Cattle
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There are several buildings and sites reflecting the activities of various food markets which were carried on in the city before the Great War. In addition to the trade of wool and cloth, there was a fish market, a covered and an open cattle market, and a vegetable and butter market. The names of three of the streets located within a short distance from the market square are Vissmarkt (fish market), Boterstraat (butter street), Veemarkt (cattle market)
St. George’s Memorial Church
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St. George's Church was built after the First World War to serve the needs of the many pilgrims who came to Ypres looking for the final resting place of a relative who never returned from the war. A community of British people was established in Ypres after the war which included those men and their families who were working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
St. George's Memorial ChurchYpres Reservoir Cemetery
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Three military cemeteries were established during the war close to the city's waterworks and prison. The Ypres Reservoir Cemetery is now the only one of these three cemeteries now in existance. 2,613 Commonwealth servicemen are buried in this cemetery.
Ypres Reservoir CemeterySt Martins Cathedral (St. Maartenskerk)
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In the 11th century the church of St. Martin's was one of three parish churches within the town. A larger church was built to replace the original early church of St. Martin during the 13th century. In 1433 the tower collapsed. It was rebuilt as a 175 feet high tower the following year and was to have had a spire on top, which would have doubled it's height again. However, the spire was not completed. St. Martin's church became a cathedral in 1559. Major restoration work was carried out on the building during the 19th century.
The cathedral was demolished by German artillery shelling in the Great War of 1914-1918. Interestingly, with the post-war rebuilding of the original cathedral, the spire which had never been added to the old building was included in the new design.
The rose window in the south transcept was a gift to Albert I, King of the Belgians, by the British Army and Royal Air Force in 1935.
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
(1) Photograph courtesy of the Ieper Tourist Office, copyright Stad Ieper, Tijl Capoen.