Leper / Ypres - Part 1

The city of the poppy flower.

The Great War

Ypres is known, especially among the British, for its war monuments and trenches.

The Menin Gate -or Menenpoort in Flemish- in particular is one of those relics and is, aside from being very impressive and imposing, one of those places that really leave an imprint on you. It is essentially a gigantic arch, and written on the inside and outside of the arch are the names of over 50000 soldiers that died during the first World War without being found. When visiting this place you should also definitely attend the Last Post service. This is a 30 minute-tribute in remembrance of those who fell and starts at 8 pm and has been held every (! ) night since the Gate’s opening in 1927.

With this war-theme in mind, there are some other places around Ypres that definitely warrant a visit. For starters, there is the Flanders Fields Museum. This museum, located on the Grand Place and a stone’s throw away from the Menin Gate, features everything you wanted to know about the Great War and is thus a very good place to visit if you have any interest in that subject.

Equally located on the Grand Place and in fact housing the aforementioned museum are the ‘Lakenhallen’. These halls were built during the time Ypres was, next to Ghent and Bruges, one of the most important trade connections with England for cloth manufacturing. The stately halls dominate the Grand Place and truly deserve a closer look, and were rebuilt after being destroyed during the wars. It thus represents not only an important history, but also a hopeful future.

Another sight to behold and built around the same time the Lakenhallen were, are the ‘Vestingen’. The whole of Ieper is, as some other cities are, surrounded by these protective walls and has been since 1000. It is a great walking (and jogging) path and especially on a sunny day offers great views on the surroundings of Ieper.

There are special events that take place every 3 years on the second Sunday in May, this is known as the Cat Parade. This involves the throwing of toy cats which have been stuffed, these are thrown from the Belfry and is a colourful parade of cats and witches.

The next parade is due to take place on 13th May 2018.

To be continued part 2