Flanders Fields. A Place To Remember. by Toerisme Vlaanderen

2015 > 2016 Brochure

Flanders Fields. A place to remember. FLANDERSFIELDS1418.COM

Ca © milo-profi photography

EUROPE

30,000th LAST POST

ANZAC-Day

©Westtoer

Flanders Fields. A place to remember.

©milo-profi photography

BELGIUM

100th anniversary of Talbot House

rt No

e hS

The Power of Avant-Garde Art Exhibition

War in Short Pants

First Gas Attack

NEDERLAND ANTWERP BRUGES

Nieuwpoor t

Calais

Diksmuide

GHENT Dendermonde

MECHELEN

Flanders Fields Poperinge

Zonnebeke

Ypres

FLANDERS

A ARSCHOT

BRUSSELS

HASSELT

LEUVEN

Mesen

Lille

©www.westhoekverbeeldt.be

FRANCE

Edition 2014 Note: This document will be regularly updated with new information as it becomes available. The latest version is always available to download from: www.visitflanders.com and has been compiled with information provided to Visit Flanders by partners throughout Belgium and around the world. All information is correct to the best of our knowledge, at the time of going to print (October 2014). However, no liability can be accepted for any loss resulting from use of information contained in this document. Please check opening dates and times before travelling.

DEUTSCHLAND

Poperinge terminus

WALLONIE

Menin Road Women during WWI

Coming World Remember Me

Introduction

Table of contents ©milo-profi photography

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015

Commemoration of the Second Battle of Ypres and the First Gas Attack

100th Anniversary of ANZAC-Day

> 10

30,000th Last Post

> 12

100 years of Talbot House, Poperinge

> 14

Other events in 2015

> 15

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2016

> 21

Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front)

> 21

Strong Women in the Great War

> 22

Commemoration of the first British execution in Poperinge

> 24

Artists inspired by war

> 25

Other events in 2016

> 26

COMINGWORLDREMEMBERME (2014-2018)

> 28

PROGRAMME 2017-2018

> 29

WORLD WAR I SITES

> 32

Ypres & surroundings

> 33

Zonnebeke

> 37

Poperinge

> 39

Diksmuide & surroundings

> 41

Nieuwpoort

> 43

Mesen & surroundings

> 44

Other interesting sites in Flanders & Brussels

> 45

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

> 47

DISCOVER THE BATTLEFIELDS

> 51

PRESS AND TRADE INFORMATION

> 18

FLANDERS COMMEMORATES THE GREAT WAR 1915-1916. Europe lies in ruins, the war proceeds aggressively. Everywhere armies have dug themselves in, with neither side able to advance and overtake the other. The war of movement has long ceased and has been replaced by an exhausting trench warfare. The front lines remain more or less stable over the coming years, sometimes disrupted by massive failures on one or the other side of the front line. The Western Front is no exception. Belgium is occupied and only a small part of the Westhoek still forms the outer Allied border. Now, a century later, the Great War is being commemorated throughout the world. In Flanders, numerous museums, exhibitions and events offer you the opportunity to engage with the history of the war, understand how nations got involved and reflect on the impact of WWI for us today, and the message of peace and remembrance for the future. This “2015-2016 Brochure” guides you through the commemorative highlights in Flanders in 2015 and 2016 and provides an overview about many of the region’s key memorial sites.

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015 Commemoration of the Second Battle of Ypres and the First Gas Attack In the spring of 1915 the Germans made a new attempt to break through Ypres, which began with the capture of Hill 60. On 22 April 1915 they used chlorine gas for the first time in modern warfare. The result was death, panic and total surprise and the Allies were forced to withdraw several miles - but there was no breakthrough. The following September the Germans were taken by surprise when the British used gas in their attack at Loos.

Lt. Col. John McCrae MD. (1872-1918) One of the most poignant souvenirs of World War I is the moving poem, In Flanders Fields. It was composed by John McCrae, a Canadian army doctor. McCrae wrote the poem following the death of his close friend, fellow Canadian and former medical student Lt. Alexis Helmer on 2nd May 1915 due to the explosion of a shell during the second gas attack by the Germans. In the absence of a chaplain, McCrae conducted the funeral rites himself. Grief and the trauma of war compelled him to write the poem.

“

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

©Courtesy of Guelph Museum M1968X-354-1-2

Soon after the poem was written, McCrae was transferred to a Canadian Field Hospital in France as Chief of Medical Services. There, he treated the wounded from battles including those of the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Arras and Passchendaele. McCrae discarded the sheet of paper on which he had written his poem. It may never have been published if it was not for the fact that it was retrieved by a fellow officer who sent it to the news journals in London. It then first appeared in Punch magazine and immediately touched the hearts of the British population. In the summer of 1917, John McCrae suffered attacks of asthma and bronchitis, no doubt due to the chlorine gas he inhaled during the Ypres invasion. On 23 January 1918, McCrae fell ill with pneumonia and was admitted to hospital. He died six days later at only 46 years of age. He was buried in Wimereux Cemetery north of Boulogne.

We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

At that time, the then Major John McCrae was running a field dressing station on the road between Ypres and Boezinge, dealing largely with the aftermath of the German gas attacks.

“ COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015

CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION OF THE FIRST GAS ATTACK

SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES - FIRST GAS ATTACK EXHIBITION

i Exhibition access is included in entrance ticket to the In Flanders Fields Museum. More information about the museum on p. 33.

The Battle of Frezenberg took place on 8 May 1915. During the spring of that year, the Second Battle of Ypres had a particular impact on the north of the Ypres Salient. The British retreated westward to the Wieltje-FrezenbergBellewaerde area.

i Address First Ceremony - 17:00 Cross of Reconciliation, Steenstraat, Ypres Second Ceremony - 18:15 Brooding Soldier, Sint-Juliaan, Langemark Third ceremony - 20:00 Menin Gate, Ypres

The British producer Simon Chatterton creates the outdoor event “Furious Folly” in cooperation with Dark Spark. The sound and light event aims to be an all-embracing experience. Sound art, pyrotechnics, projection and kinetic sculptures are the trademark of Dark Spark. The production is gripping and surprising, tragic and full of hope at the same time.

Website www.toerisme-ieper.be

24 APR 2015 > 31 AUG 2015

THE SMELL OF WAR ARTISTIC CIRCUIT

De Lovie Castle

Peter De Cupere is the curator of “The Smell of War”. He challenges an international cast of artists to immerse De Lovie Castle in a palette of smells. The context of the exhibition is the first gas offensives in 1915 and the impact of that chemical warfare.

©Peter de Cupere

“You automatically think of the smell of gas, but also fear, sweat, disease and death, hygiene situations, gunpowder, the musty and damp smell of the bunkers, the smell of danger, ... but to me also smell as memory. Smell affects olfactory memories strongly. With smells you can invoke conscious or unconscious specific reactions in the visitors. It is the perfect way to summon intuitive memories of WWI too.” (Peter De Cupere) Participating artists: Peter De Cupere (Belgium), Oswaldo Macia (Great Britain), Clara Ursitti (Canada), Maki Ueda (Japan), Sissel Tolaas (Norway), Christophe Laudamiel (France), Gayil Nalls (US), Hilda Kozari, Alex Schweder, Hagen Betzwieser (Germany). The castle domain was used as headquarters for the French and British army units during WWI. Today, it serves as a centre for adolescents and adults with learning difficulties.

Contact +32 (0)57 34 66 76 toerisme@poperinge.be Website www.poperinge14-18.be

BATTLE OF FREZENBERG CENTENARY

Frezenberg Zonnebeke

De Lovie Castle

This is a solemn remembrance of the first extensive use of chemical weapons in a war, taking place in various locations along the Ypres Salient.

i Address Kasteeldomein De Lovie Krombeekseweg 82 8970 Poperinge

08 MAY 2015

FURIOUS FOLLY SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW

Ypres and Langemark-Poelkapelle

In Flanders Fields Museum

Throughout the period of the Centenary, the In Flanders Fields Museum is following the timetable of military events through a series of temporary exhibitions. In the second of this series, the historical account of the events which took place from April-May 1915 will be told.

30 APR 2015 > 03 MAY 2015

An acoustic experiment in memory. An electromechanical lament. An alchemical rendering of the madness of war. (Simon Chatterton)

Encouraged by the retreat of the British, the German troops tried to force a breakthrough near Frezenberg between 8 and 15 May. On 8 May, the Frezenberg mill collapsed due to heavy shelling. The Germans could force an opening in the British defence but thanks to the efforts of the Canadian regiment, their attacks could be stopped. On 8 May 2015, a commemoration and battlefield tour will be organised to remember the efforts of the Canadian Regiment in 1915. i Registration is required balie@zonnebeke.be

Furious Folly takes place in the historic setting of De Lovie.

i Address Kasteeldomein De Lovie Krombeekseweg 82 8970 Poperinge

Contact +32 (0)57 34 66 76 toerisme@poperinge.be Website www.poperinge14-18.be

Opening hours Every night at 21:30

Price Adults: €13.00/€15.00 <21 years and groups (35 persons): €10.00

22 MAY 2015 > 24 MAY 2015

BABEL MULTIMEDIA DANCE SHOW

CC Het Perron, Ypres

To mark the end of the Second Battle of Ypres on 28 May 1915, a multimedia dance show will be premiered in Ypres. This internationally acclaimed contemporary event will create deep thematic links to the gas attacks, which took place in combat for the first time. It will act as a reminder of where we have come from, who we are today and where we are heading in the future within the vulnerable structure we call ‘the individual’. i Website www.gonewest.be ©Koen Broos

22 APR 2015

©Westtoer

Events

15 NOV 2014 > 20 JUN 2015

Opening hours Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 14:00 - 18:00 Price Adults: €5.00 <21 years and groups (35 persons): €4.00 Children <12 years: free entrance Tour guide On demand

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015

Events 25 APR 2015

100th Anniversary of ANZAC Day

ANZAC-DAY CEREMONY

Buttes New British Cemetery Zonnebeke

25 April 2015 marks the day, exactly 100 years on, that Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed at the Turkish peninsula Gallipoli, and where their participation in the Great War started. This date has become known as ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day. Both nationalities were present in Flanders in 1917, taking part in the brutal battle of Passchendaele.

“Halfway through the ceremony rain started pouring down on the nearly 1000 people attending. They were not cowed away, though. It’s a sacred moment of remembrance and once you decide to participate, you stick to it. And you don’t flee before a simple shower in the presence of the ghosts of so many courageous young men, either. We heard the sounds and songs of the Maori, delicate like tropical birds lost in our Northern forests. We admired the performance of the three national hymns and were moved by the blowing of the Last Post. We were there together, Belgians, Australians, New Zealanders, British, Scots, Irish, French, Germans and who knows from what other country people had come to witness. After the ceremony we were invited to come forward and pick up one of the many wooden crosses youngsters from Australia and New Zealand had dedicated with their thoughts. I picked the one that was nearest to where I stood. It was yours, Ana. I liked your clear handwriting, I liked the message you had written. I could imagine you in a classroom somewhere in Australia, dreaming away to this faraway place called Flanders, and trying to imagine what it was like, Flanders, war, dying. What it is. I laid your cross at the headstone of an unknown Australian soldier - known unto God, as they say. I always feel that these unknown victims need a bit of extra attention in the remembrance business - a kind of positive discrimination. Even in death it must be hard to bear when your name is separated from your body. I hope and think you will approve of my choice.

i Reservation is required balie@zonnebeke.be Website www.passchendaele.be

25 APR 2015 > 26 APR 2015

26 APR 2015

CONCERTS ANZAC DAY 2015

FLANDERS SCOTTISH MEMORIAL DAY

Zonnebeke

A series of evening concerts will be organised as part of GoneWest, featuring top class musicians from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. These artists will draw inspiration from the historical events and perform new works in the grounds of the castle in Zonnebeke, where the renovated Passchendaele 1917 Memorial Museum is located.

This day focuses on Scottish traditions and communities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Many Scottish battalions were established, especially in the Canadian army, adopting the traditions of their British sister regiments. Designed to appeal to a broad range of visitors, the event will include highland games, bagpipe concerts and Scottish gastronomy. i Website www.passchendaele.be ©Johan Vervaeck

Lea Winkeler, from Visit Flanders, attended the ANZAC ceremony at Polygon Wood near Ypres and writes about her experience on her blog mygreatwar.com:

On 25 April 2015, ANZAC (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day is commemorated with a Dawn Service on Buttes New British Cemetery (Polygon Wood) at 6:00.

i Website www.gonewest.be

”

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015

COMMEMORATION OF THE 30,000TH LAST POST

Events

09 JUL 2015

Ypres

Together they are 110 years old: Rik and Dirk Vandekerckhove, twin brothers from Ypres. For over 30 years, they have played the Last Post together at the Menin Gate in Ypres. Seven days a week always at 20:00 they play, shoulder to shoulder, their musical tribute. Together with the many visitors they remember the Great War that was fought in their city, region and country 100 years ago. Unique brothers and a unique event.

The Last Post has been played since 1928 to remember the 54,896 soldiers and officers of the British Commonwealth who are listed as missing in action. Every day, rain or shine, the Ypres buglers, who are members of the local fire brigade, play their ode to the fallen at 20:00 under the Menin Gate. More information about the Menin Gate on p. 34. In 1928, the head of the Ypres police force, Pierre Vandenbraambussche, founded the Last Post Association. The Last Post ceremony in Ypres has been held every day since - or almost every day. The sole exception occurred during the four years between 1940 and 1944 when Ypres was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. During this period, the daily ceremony continued at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey (England) and the tradition was maintained here on the first Sunday of the month until recently. At Ypres, the ceremony at the Menin Gate resumed on the very evening that Polish forces liberated the town, even though heavy fighting was still going on nearby. The Last Post Association is still responsible for the day-to-day organisation of this unique tribute. Following its long-established tradition, the buglers of the Association wear the uniform of the local volunteer fire brigade, of which they are all required to become members. Four silver bugles were originally presented to the Last Post Committee by the Brussels and Antwerp branches of the Royal British Legion, while others have been donated over the years as the bugles age. The Last Post ceremony takes place at 20:00 every day of the year. There is no entrance fee and no need for prior reservation. On busy days, crowds begin to assemble at least 30 minutes before the event begins. It is possible to request a special extended version of the ceremony. Individuals or groups may, for example, wish to lay a wreath or bring musicians or a choir. The Last Post Association is happy to consider such requests but applications should be made well in advance. These extended ceremonies are also public and begin at 20:00.

This connection to one’s own family that, 100 years ago, fought in the Great War is not very common nowadays. “Only a few people from our country still have this special bond with the Great War. We notice this because we still get many visitors from the Commonwealth. Many British and Australians visit the Menin Gate where they find the names of their ancestors. Most of them are very thankful for our commitment. They often show us, with tears in their eyes, photos, postcards or army documents. One of the previous Australian ambassadors in Brussels attended, during his four-year mandate, the Last Post 70 times and addressed us by our first names” Rik recalls.

i Website www.gonewest.be

Rik and Dirk Vandekerckhove still have faith that the memory of the Great War will not be forgotten: “For most young people this is a distant memory. But because of the national and international media attention and the numerous events at the Menin Gate in the near future, we think that we’ll succeed in making people aware of the Great War - so that the memory is kept alive.“

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015

©milo-profi photography

30,000th Last Post

Rik says: “We do this to pay tribute to the victims of war, primarily of WWI but also of other wars. We are proud of this and consider it a special duty to remember the many young people who have sacrificed their lives for us. Compared to the hardship and the misery that our soldiers had to endure over many years, our effort seems only small. For us, it certainly doesn’t feel like a job.” His brother Dirk adds: “What makes it special for us is that our grandfather Cyril Vandekerckhove was a front soldier in the Great War in the van Tielt region. As a farmer’s son he fought on horseback, which was remarkable because normally only soldiers of affluent descent could be part of the cavalry. He was shot twice in the shoulder from a tower on the market square in Tielt but he survived the attack. He returned to the front after his injury, continued to fight but went half deaf due to the violent cannon fire.”

By 9 July, 2015, the buglers - past and present - will have sounded the Last Post at the Menin Gate on 30,000 occasions. To mark this 30,000th Last Post, WWI centenary programme called GoneWest will be organising an event under the auspices of its artistic curator, the Flemish actor Wim Opbrouck. Belgian fire brigades will contact their network (many have links to fire brigades in other countries) and invite them to join the tribute. The idea is to have people gathering in fire stations all around the world, regardless of the local time, to watch the 30,000th Last Post being played in Ypres. A moment of solemn, global remembrance for WWI a tribute to a tribute.

©Westtoer

Buglers Rik and Dirk Vandekerckhove

100 years of Talbot House, Poperinge

At the request of Rev. Neville Talbot, Tubby was soon transferred to the peaceful, unoccupied town of Poperinge, in Flanders, where, on 11th December 1915, the two of them inaugurated Talbot House (also known as Toc H, the pronounciation of the initials of Talbot House used by signallers during WWI), a Christian rest and recreation centre for all of the war’s soldiers, regardless of their rank. Members of Talbot House would gather there for dinner, religious ceremonies, conversation, reading, music, etc. - in fact, anything that would take their minds off the war. Despite the tumultuous times, Talbot House, Poperinge stayed open until the end of 1918. The Toc H movement still continues today, at various centres in the UK and around the world, as a unique place of fellowship and sanctuary. After the war ended, Tubby returned to England, where he published “Tales of Talbot House” and opened several other Toc H houses. Using his experiences in Flanders to promote the philosophy of the Toc H movement, Clayton also devised the notion of the four cardinal points of the compass to represent the aims of the organisation as Friendship (“To Love Widely” - To welcome all in friendship); Service (“To Build Bravely”- To give personal service); Fair-mindedness (“To Think Fairly” - To always listen to the views of others) and, finally, The Kingdom of God (“To Witness Humbly” - To acknowledge the spiritual nature of all people).

(N.N., 58th Division, September 1917)

“

I kept a rest-house back in Poperinghe, and my customers from time to time invited me to repay their calls. In the rest-house they rested – that is, they turned to other things than war. There was less said about the war in Talbot House than probably anywhere else in Europe at the time. As a topic it had its limitations, like the weather. As a conversational opening its vagaries were of value, but no more than that; the real thing was to get relief from it, relief comic, serio-comic, educational, spiritual. (P.B. Clayton)

“

Philip Thomas Byard Clayton, nicknamed “Little Tubby” after an overweight uncle, was born in Queensland, Australia in 1885. At the age of two his parents returned to their native England. Educated at St Paul’s School in London and then at Exeter College, Oxford, he gained a First Class Degree in Theology. Tubby started working as a curate at St Mary’s Church in Portsea in 1910 but after seeing a ship full of soldiers sink before his eyes, he felt the desire to become more involved in the war and moved to France in early 1915, where he became an army chaplain in Le Tréport.

In 1922, Tubby became vicar of All Saints by the Tower, an Anglican church in London and in 1965 he was named as an honorary citizen of Poperinge. Tubby Clayton died in 1972, at the age of 87. The original Talbot House, in Poperinge, is used both as a residential and conference house and as a museum. Several rooms were recently renovated, including the chapel, the kitchen and the hall, as well as the garden. Brand new Tubby’s story tablets, offering a selection of tours, shed light on some of the events that took place there. Visitors can even spend the night! See p. 40 for information on centenary events.

PIANO FESTIVAL POPERINGE

18 DEC 2015 > 20 DEC 2015

Poperinge

Inside Talbot House soldiers could take refuge from the turmoil of the war, gathering around a piano and letting the music soothe their souls. The two-day festival will offer a varied programme of different musical genres with (inter)nationally wellknown pianists performing new works on the theme of the war. Local and amateur pianists will also be given a platform for performance.

Events

Philip “Tubby” Clayton (1885-1972)

“

I was sad and lonely as I re-entered “Everyman’s Club.” During the preceding three weeks I had lived in a land of mud and death. Many of my best friends had passed over, others I had seen mangled, wounded and in agony. The noise of the bombardment still dinned in my ears and I could not rid myself of the sights and smells of battle. I passed through the house, into the garden, and sat down awhile to rest. From a neighbouring house the voices of women, busy in the ordinary duties of the day could be heard. The grass was almost unbelievably green. The leaves had scarcely begun to fall, the branches moved gently in a passing wind and a bird was singing in the tree-top…

“

During World War I, Poperinge was part of a small piece of unoccupied territory in Belgium. Far away from the turmoil of the Ypres’ front, the city became the nerve centre of the British war industry. In the centre of this busy city, chaplains Neville Talbot and Philip “Tubby” Clayton opened a club house on December 1915 where no distinction in rank or status was made. For three years all soldiers could enjoy rare moments of peace and entertainment at Talbot House. Just like it was a hundred years ago, the House still represents a peaceful stop along the course of the “Great War” in Flanders Fields. More information about Talbot House on p. 40.

i Website www.gonewest.be

14 OCT 2014 > 22 FEB 2015

THE WAR IN PICTURES/BRUGES AT WAR PHOTOGRAPHY HISTORICAL EXHIBITION

MAS

At the outbreak of WWI, some one million Belgians fled to the Netherlands, while hundreds of thousands more escaped to Great Britain and France. This exodus is shown in the museum’s ‘Boulevard’, which highlights the search for a safe haven and, ultimately, the return home. i Address Museum aan de stroom (MAS) Hanzestedenplaats 1 2000 Antwerp Website www.mas.be

28 SEP 2014 > 06 APR 2015

FAR FROM THE WAR? BELGIAN IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA DURING WORLD WAR I EXHIBITION

Red Star Line Museum

In the early 20 century, during the years running up to WWI, Belgian migration to the United States peaked. When the German army occupied Belgium in 1914, all transatlantic passenger traffic from Antwerp came to a halt. Belgian Americans suddenly found themselves cut off from their motherland and, in many cases, from their family. How did they experience the war? How did they express their solidarity with their country of origin? A presentation in The Shed, the museum’s multipurpose gallery, explores this theme. th

i Address Red Star Line Museum Montevideostraat 3 2000 Antwerp Contact + 32 (0)3 206 03 50 redstarline@stad.antwerpen.be Website www.redstarline.org

Opening hours Tuesday -Sunday 10:00 - 17:00

Price Free

EXODUS, FLEEING THE WAR

Stadshallen Brugge 19 SEP 2014 > 05 SEP 2015

HEAVY TRAFFIC, RAILWAY TRAFFIC AND OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORT IN POPERINGE 1914-1918 DIORAMA, EXHIBITION AND APPLICATION

Gasthuiskapel Poperinge

The city is in constant movement. Soldiers, goods, the wounded and refugees are being brought in and transported: it all happens via an extensive network of railways and access routes. In the Gasthuiskapel (Hospital chapel) the diorama, miniature scale model, (1:76) gives you a glimpse behind the curtains. From there you can also connect to the outdoor exhibition and landscape via an application. You can compare images of the past and the present, and. discover the stories behind the railway relics.

Opening hours 13:00-18:00 19/09 - 16/11: Daily 17/11 - 15/02: Saturday and Sunday 16/02 - 09/05: Daily Closed on Monday

Carl De Keyzer presents in a second exhibition his own work alongside that of nine fellow MAGNUM photographers. All of them live in countries where WWI played a major role. They reflect - in their own ways and from the perspective of their very different backgrounds - on the topic. i Address Stadshallen Markt 7 - 8000 Brugge

Price Diorama Adults: €3.00 Children (≤12 years): €1.00 Family ticket: €5.00 Groups: €2.00 iPad hire for open air exhibition: €5.00

On the ground floor, Sophie De Schaepdrijver presents a historical exhibition on the little-known story of an occupied city made to serve as a base for the war at sea. The exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into life in occupied Bruges against the backdrop of global war. On the first floor, there are two photography exhibitions: MAGNUM photographer Carl De Keyzer offers a contemporary approach to WWI photography. In collaboration with David Van Reybrouck, he selected historical photographic materials from international collections. He processed the images and made large, impressive prints.

i Address Gasthuiskapel (Hospital chapel) Gasthuisstraat 1A - 8970 Poperinge Contact +32 (0)57 34 66 76 Website www.poperinge14-18.be

In 1914 the Germans invaded Bruges. The city is commemorating the Great War with three exhibitions. This global conflict is being shown both within its Bruges context as well as its international framework, from both historical and artistic perspectives.

Contact +32 (0)50 44 46 46 (only for reservations) Toerisme.reserveringen@brugge.be

Price Adults: €12.00 Children: -12 years for free, 12-25 years €10.00 Groups (min. 15 pers.): €10.00 and senior citizens €9.00 School groups for free

Website www.brugge1418.be

Guides €80,00 (by reservations only)

Opening hours Tuesday - Sunday 09:30 - 17:00 Closed: Mondays

Tour guide On request

21 FEB 2015 > 31 MAY 2015

THROUGH GERMAN EYES: WORLD WAR I IN ETAPPENGEBIET WEST PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

03 MAY 2014 > 14 SEP 2015

Museum of Deinze and the Leie Region

SIGNED, THE ARTIST. A COLLECTION PRESENTATION

Middelheim Museum

A unique photo exhibition about life behind the German lines, the so-called Etappengebiet West, as seen through the lenses of German photographers during World War I.

The lives of the artists in the Middelheim collection, on both sides of the front, were harshly interrupted by WWI, which cut through their (early) careers much like a blunt axe. But while they share this experience, WWI is not a common denominator in their work. Some of them were permanently scarred by the tragic conflict and went on to dedicate their entire portfolio to it, while others struggled to break from the rhetoric of aggression and suffering. i Address Middelheimmuseum Middelheimlaan 61 2020 Antwerp Website www.middelheimmuseum.be

Events

20 MAY 2014 > 30 APR 2015

Other events in 2015

Opening hours October - March: 10:00 - 17:00 April - September: 10:00 - 19:00 May - August: 10:00 - 20:00 June & July: 10:00 - 21:00 Closed: Mondays

©MuseumvanDeinzeendeLeiestreek

This extensive private photo collection focuses on the day-to-day lives of both the occupying forces and the occupied. There is, for example, an image of a group of Germans relaxing on the banks of the River Leie contrasting sharply with shots of a food distribution to the local population, whose food supplies had been confiscated.

i Address Museum van Deinze en de Leiestreek Lucien Matthyslaan 3-5 9800 Deinze

Contact + 32 (0)9 381 96 70 museum@deinze.be Website www.museumdeinze.be

Opening hours Tu - Fri: 14:00 - 17:30 Sa - Su: 10:00-12:00 - 14:00-17:00

Prices Adults: €5.00 60+: €3.00 Children: < 12 year free Groups: €3.00 Schools: €1.00

Guides €65.00

Price Free entry COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015

Events

APR 2015 > NOV 2016

30 AUG 2014 > 31 DEC 2019

EVOLUTION OF BELGIAN ARMY DURING WWI EXHIBITION

04 APR 2015 > 30 SEP 2015

ILLUSTRATED BY THE WAR, INTERPRETATIONS ON THE FIRST WORLD WAR EXHIBITION

ALBERT I: FIGHTING FOR PEACE EXHIBITION

Rumbeke Castle

Museum on the Yser

From the numerous exhibitions about WWI, only a few are devoted to the heads of state, politicians and commanders of that time. Many of them ended up with a tarnished reputation and, as a consequence, they have not been commemorated. This exhibition, “Fighting for Peace”, seeks to raise awareness and commemorate the largely unknown contribution of King Albert I.

Kinderbrouwerij Reningelst

i M ore information about Museum on the Yser view p. 41.

During World War I this building served as a bathing facility for 40,000 British soldiers who had their quarters at Reningelst. During the summer of 2014, the three illustrators Gerda Dendooven, Randall Casaer and Kitty Crowther resided at the Kinderbrouwerij (Kids Factory). Each illustrator was accompanied by a young artist: Ward Zwart, Trui Chielens and Liesbeth De Stercke.

from 01 MAY 2015

FLANDERS FIELDS, FINAL DESTINATION POPERINGE MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION

Together they created drawings inspired by specific stories about children during wartime. These illustrations are now being displayed at the Kinderbrouwerij (Kids Factory). Some of those drawings will also be integrated in the surrounding landscape and visitors will be able to discover them with the help of QR-codes.

Website www.albert14-18.be

Opening hours 10:00 - 18:00 Closed on Mondays and holidays

Prices Adults: €9.00 Groups (from 15 pers.): €6.00

©why

06 APR 2015 > 30 NOV 2015

LES DEMOISELLES DE NIEUPORT TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

Westfront Nieuwpoort

Flanders Fields, Final Destination Poperinge has been especially written and composed in remembrance of 1914-1918. The play will be staged on location, next to Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, a former hospital site where almost 11,000 war victims are buried. The musical theatre production focuses on the stories behind the headstones and a professional cast of actors and musicians will create a thoughtprovoking experience.

07 FEB 2014 > 26 APR 2015

EXPO: 14-18, IT’S OUR HISTORY

22 APR 2015 > 15 DEC 2015

DECODING THE FRONT EXHIBITION

Landhuis Zonnedaele (Kasteeldomein Zonnebeke)

The French marine fusiliers from Brittany, who held the line in Nieuwpoort in 1915, were brisk and cheerful youngsters sporting colourful sailors’ uniforms. American journalist Arthur Gleason dubbed them ‘Playboys of Brittany’ and the Parisians knew them as ‘Les demoiselles au pompon rouge’, ‘the Ladies with the red pompoms’. Don’t let this mislead you, as the marines had a reputation of being cunning and fierce fighters. If they were remarkable and strikingly colourful in those dark days, their ambulance driver was even more so: Dorothie Feilding, a British heiress and the second daughter of the Earl of Denbigh. A woman at the front was unheard of in those days. However, Lady Feilding stayed in Flanders at the side of her marines until 1917, saving hundreds of lives under horrendous circumstances. Along the way she won the hearts and the admiration of generals and kings and she was the first woman to be awarded the Military Medal. i Contact www.westfrontnieuwpoort.be

10 OCT 2014 > 11 NOV 2018

THE BATTLE OF THE YSER EXHIBITION

Museum on the Yser

The bloody fighting around Diksmuide in October 1914 marked a turning point during WWI. This is where the manoeuvre warfare ended and the front was stuck. This exhibition outlines the run up to the Battle of the Yser, the fighting circumstances and the consequences for the further development of the war. i E ntrance included in standard museum entry price. View p. 41 for more information about the museum.

i Address Tourism Poperinge Grote Markt 1 8970 Poperinge

Contact +32 (0)57 34 66 76 toerisme@poperinge.be Website www.poperinge14-18.be

Opening hours Performance times vary. Check website

Prices €35.00 (by reservation only)

Royal Museum of the Army and of Military History

In April 2015 the Memorial Museum Passchendaele will inaugurate a remarkable exhibition about international communication during WWI. It will tell the story of messengers, pigeons, dogs, telephony, telegraphy and wireless audio connections as well as the encryption of messages. For example, during this time, the Allied forces used the language of Choctaw Indians as a code because the Germans could not decipher their dialect. The exhibition will display a wide range of unique items. The highlight will be original coding machines that visitors can use to send messages in Morse code and to call each other using authentic audio connections! i Website www.passchendaele.be

Based on the rich and unique collections of the Royal Army Museum, this exhibition enables visitors to discover all aspects of the conflicts which left Europe battered and weakened, and place the history of the war in a broader context. The war and everyday life during the German occupation constitues an important part of the exhibition. However, most of all, visitors will discover how this conflict profoundly influenced the history of the 20th century through original objects, thoughtprovoking scenes, personal accounts, multimedia and films. The aim of this exhibition is to reach a wider audience who has forgotten how history has shaped their current lives, and to open their eyes to the story of the firstly European, then global war.

i Address Royal Museum of the Army and of Military History Parc du Cinquantenaire 3 1000 Brussels

Contact +32 (0)2 549 60 49 info@expo14-18.be Website www.expo14-18.be

Opening hours Tuesday - Friday: 09:00 - 17:00 Weekend, school holidays, public holidays: 10:00 - 18:00 Closed: Mondays

Duration of the visit 90 mins- 2 hours

Price Adults: €5.00 Family ticket: €16.00 Groups: on request

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery

i Website www.poperinge14-18.be

i Address Rumbeke Castle 8800 Roeselare

Price Adults: €12.00 Groups (min. 20 pers.) and senior citizens: €9.00 Children (6 -18 years) and students: €8.00 Family package: 2 adults + 2 children: €32.00 (+ €6.00 for extra child) School groups: €6.00 Youth groups between 6 and 18 years (min. 20 pers.): €6.00 Children under 6 years: free Reservations essential for schools and groups Reservation service available Monday - Friday from 9:30 - 12:30 and 13:30 17:00 Tour guide €65.00 per guide for 90 min visit (max. 20 pers. per guide) (by reservation only) Languages English, French, Dutch, German

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2015

Events

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2016

SEP 2015 > JAN 2016

11 NOV 2015

ARMISTICE REMEMBRANCE

GENDER@WAR 14-18 EXHIBITION

Menin Gate, Ypres

Belvue Museum

The Archive and Research Centre for Women’s History in association with the Belvue museum is setting up a cultural history exhibition that delves into the ways women and men experienced the war. The exhibition is looking to debunk social stereotypes and provide food for thought on the complex way in which war affects and changes the positions of men and women in society.

The Armistice is commemorated each year in Ypres with an extensive programme of events. Highlights include the Special Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate at 11:00 and the ‘The Great War Remembered’ concert in St Martin’s Cathedral at 16:30.

Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front)

i Website www.toerisme-ieper.be

14 NOV 2015 > 14 DEC 2015

In 1916, the prospect of a speedy end of the war seemed further away than ever. In Germany, it was decided to shift the focus west to Verdun (France). The city was surprised with a massive bombardment. The French and German losses were enormous but Verdun ultimately remained in French hands. On 1 July 1916 a British offensive broke loose in the Somme that eventually lasted four months. The result were hundreds of thousands killed or wounded soldiers on both sides of the front. Although no major offensive took place, the fighting was still ongoing in Flanders Fields. In this period, about 100,000 soldiers fell in the Westhoek, about 127 per day. ‘Im Westen nichts Neues’ (All Quiet on the Western Front) refers to the book about the horrors and absurdity of war written by Erich Maria Remarque, a German World War I veteran. The book, which has already been turned into a movie twice, describes the insanity that a group of young German soldiers face in the trenches during WWI.

DOVES - MYTHOLOGIES EXHIBITION

Talbot House, Poperinge

Exhibition by the internationally renowned filmmaker and animator Raoul Servais at Talbot House, Poperinge. A dove is the universal symbol for peace and tolerance, but during WWI real doves were also used as a means of communication and espionage, a paradox emphasizing the absurdity of war. During these years of horror, front line soldiers, in crisis situations, sometimes observed paranormal phenomena. These unexplained happenings were a response and relief to some soldiers where there was a thin line between life and death. These phenomena will be the common thread that binds everything together in this exhibition.

i Address Place des Palais 7, 1000 Brussels

Contact avg.carhif@amazone.be Website belvue.be - www.avg-carhif.be

As a great part of Europe was involved in this war, many nationalities will be covered. Belgians, French, Germans, British, Italians and Senegalese will each get their own place in the exhibition. Like a dove soaring over the battlefield, each visitor will be lifted over the limitations set by borders and nationalities. The ultimate aim is to emphasise the madness of this - and any - war.

i More information about Talbot House on p. 40. Price exhibition included in ticket Talbot House.

Irène Curie 1897-1956 Irène, the daughter of Marie Curie, was born in France in 1897, when her mother was 30 years old. Irène’s mathematical talent became apparent at a very young age, and her parents made sure to adapt her education and steer her in a promising direction. When WWI broke out, however, Irène’s studies at the Faculty of Science at the Sorbonne were interrupted. During the first year of the war, Marie Curie decided to head to the front to supervise the setup of 20 mobile radiography vehicles (which became known as ‘petites Curies’), in addition to a large number of radiology units at field hospitals. Despite being only 17, Irène begged her mother to take her along, which Marie eventually agreed to. After a short nursing course, during which Irène learned the basics in radiology, she joined her mother at the front line where they ran the mobile field hospitals together. Due to the significant lack of trained staff, Marie and Irène also trained over 180 young women as aides, teaching them how to operate the X-ray units that could help doctors detect shrapnel in injured soldiers. In December 1914, Marie and Irène first visited the Belgian city of Veurne together and, a year later, Irène was put in charge of the radiology department of a hospital in Hoogstade. Irène also worked in various French hospitals during the war, including in Amiens at the time of the Battle of the Somme. Letters between mother and daughter dating from these years illustrate how close the two were. After the war, Irène returned to Paris to pick up her studies again. She went on to lead a highly successful career, becoming Doctor of Science in 1925 and receiving the Nobel Prize for chemistry 10 years later. Irène Curie died at the age of 58 from leukaemia, most likely as a result of having been exposed to large doses of radiation at the front.

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2016

Strong Women in the Great War

MAY 2016 > DEC 2016

MARIE CURIE EXHIBITION

The Great War was not exclusively a male affair. Women, too, played their part but not on the battlefield. Their work concentrated on local communities and family life. It is these women who, during the war, took over child care and business matters, took initiatives in order to maintain health care and education and established a network of solidarity across ethnic and cultural boundaries. In a series of exhibitions and events in the northern part of the Westhoek, we will highlight three iconic women: the scientist Marie Curie, Queen Elizabeth of Belgium and the artist Käthe Kollwitz. By means of personal stories and experiences we offer women of WWI a platform and link them to women in current conflicts.

Veurne

The scientist and Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie and her commitment to the installation of radiological equipment throughout Flanders and in field hospitals are explored in the exhibition in the Visitors Centre Vrij Vaderland Veurne. Her daughter Irène helped her during her work behind the front. View p. 21 for the story of Irène.

i Address & Contact Vrij Vaderland view p. 45.

Pervijse (Pervyse)

KÄTHE KOLLWITZ EXHIBITION

TEN VREDE FESTIVAL

Diksmuide

i Address & Contact Museum on the Yser view p. 41.

Website www.tenvrede.be

Prices Adults 1 Day ticket: €10.00 (in advance)/€15.00 Adults Weekend ticket (3 days): €25.00

Exclusive works of Käthe Kollwitz will be on show, which reflect her thirst for social justice. The Käthe Kollwitz Museum in Koekelare tells the story of the artist with a detailed temporary exhibition about her life after the Great War as well as on the impact of the war on her work.

i Address Stadhuis Diksmuide Van Pouckestraat 1 8600 Diksmuide

Contact + 32 (0)51 79 32 60 vrije.tijd@stad.diksmuide.be Website www.diksmuide.be

Opening hours Mo & We: 9:00 - 12:00, 14:00 - 17:00 Tu, Thu, Fri: 9:00 - 12:00

Discover more about Käthe in the Käthe Kollwitz museum in Koekelare view p. 42.

HEROINES OF PERVIJZE EXHIBITION

MAY 2016 > DEC 2016

SEP 2016

This festival takes a stand against all forms of violence and war, past and present, anywhere in the world. This year’s festival will focus on women: female artists, writers, peace activists and journalists.

MAY 2016 > DEC 2016

QUEEN ELIZABETH EXHIBITION

Diksmuide

Queen Elizabeth of Belgium was a founding member of the l’Océan hospital, where she regularly worked alongside Dr. Depage. In De Panne you discover her contribution and devotion to the care of nurses during WWI.

i Address Cultuurhuis De Scharbiellie Kasteelstraat 34 8660 De Panne

Contact + 32 (0)58 42 97 53 cultuur@depanne.be Website www.depanne.be

Opening hours Daily 14:00 - 18:00

The Madonnas of Pervyse are perhaps the bravest women who are put into the spotlight. Their unique story is told in an exhibition in Pervyse. In August 1914, they joined the British medical team. Mairi started a medical station and proved to be an excellent driver of the large and difficult to manoeuvre ambulance vehicles. Elsie came up with the revolutionary initiative to treat Belgian soldiers in first aid stations near the German trenches - an idea that saved many lives. During the periods of rest and recuperation in England, they held lectures in order to raise funds for medical equipment.

i Address OC Ten Bercle Nieuwpoortstraat 2 8600 Pervijze

Contact + 32 (0)51 79 32 60 vrije.tijd@stad.diksmuide.be

MAY 2016 > DEC 2016

MADAME TACK & MIETJE BŒUF EXHIBITION

Diksmuide

The Museum on the Yser in Diksmuide will tell the stories of Madame Tack and Mietje Boeuf. Both women refused to leave their homes at the Yser front. The mansion of Madame Tack served as a refuge for many soldiers. With her donkey she went all the way to De Panne to do the shopping for herself and the soldiers. Mietje Boeuf supplied the front soldiers with goat’s milk.

i Address & Contact Museum on the Yser view p. 41.

Website www.diksmuide.be

Prices Free

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2016

Artists inspired by war Commemoration of the first British execution in Poperinge The execution story is one of the most harrowing of Poperinge’s WWI history. It was not just a city behind the lines, but the headquarters of army command. The peaceful atmosphere was misleading since it was a city exposed to daily bombardment and one that dealt with the process of military life, including the court-martial and tragic execution of soldiers.

The memory of the Great War is inscribed on paper and recorded on photographic negatives, however artists also fought on the front line, bringing a unique perspective to the conflict. Their collected sketches and paintings embody the great changes in Western art and culture brought about by the war: the beginnings of modernism as a new way of representing reality. The war artists from this period were often commissioned by the army or by newspapers wanting to capture the war for the greater public. As a result, in the period between 1914 and 1918, it was common to encounter works of pure propaganda, but also the increasingly powerful voice of a movement that would shatter the rose-tinted image of war.

John Wall (1895-1917)

23 SEP 2016 > 22/01 2017 (with reservation)

John Wall, second sergeant of his platoon at the time, left with his men from their hiding place in Railway Wood and went towards the front line trenches of Bellewaarde Ridge in August 1917. When enemy bombardment started they took shelter in a bunker. The next day, when the soldiers arrived at the front line, they noticed that John Wall was missing. It turned out that he had stayed at the hiding place and only went back to the reserve dugouts the next day. A few days later, his court-martial took place in the field. In his defence speech, Sergeant Wall argued that his men had left without his knowledge, because of enemy fire and he had to return to his hiding place when he was out looking for his troop. John Wall, reduced to the ranks, was sentenced to death for desertion and shot by a firing squad. He was 22 years old.

THE POWER OF THE AVANT-GARDE ART EXHIBITION

BOZAR - Centre for Fine Arts

Avant-garde is a term used in warfare and in art and flourishes in a world of change. The exhibition in Brussels examines the relevance of the revolutionary power of the avant-garde movement at the beginning of the new millennium. Twenty leading contemporary artists will engage in a dialogue with colleagues from the historical avant-garde (1895-1920). The main guideline is the idea of the “unverbrauchte Moderne” from the legendary exhibition Westkunst (1981) by Kasper König: the potential of the modern is far from exhausted. The exhibition highlights the diverse expectations, confusing feelings and ideas as well as the illusions and disillusions of the artists involved. The belief in a new world and a new man and the disillusionment that followed, left deep traces in the art world. Historical surveys departing from the main avant-garde cities and movements - the futurists in Milan, cubism in Paris, the expressionist groups Die Brücke, Der Blaue Reiter and the gallery Der Sturm in Germany - show art as a seismograph of the explosion that will follow.

Umberto Boccioni “Riot in the Gallery”

02 SEP 2016 > 13 NOV 2016

SHOT AT DAWN EXHIBITION, ART INSTALLATION & MOBILE APPLICATION

Gasthuiskapel, Poperinge

In this exhibition the execution story is placed in the historical, philosophical and anthropological context. Past and present opinions are compared. The Dutch artist Anno Dijkstra has been intrigued by executions for years. For this exhibition he created a new work: an installation that confronts and incites reflection. The exhibition is the base for actively exploring the region. A mobile application takes you to places linked to the execution story: Poperinge, Ypres and Heuvelland. i Address Gasthuiskapel Gasthuisstraat 1A 8970 Poperinge Contact +32 (0)57 34 66 76 toerisme@poperinge.be Website www.poperinge14-18.be

Opening hours Daily from 10:00 - 17:00 (closed on Mondays) Prices Basic fare: €7.00 Reduced fare: €5.00 Family ticket: €20.00

©Lijssenthoekarchives

i Website www.bozar.be

MENIN ROAD OPEN AIR EXHIBITION

03 JUN 2016 > 02 OCT 2016 (under restriction)

Menin-Ypres Road

The legendary Menin Road - Ypernstrasse or the Menin-Ypres Road - played a crucial part in the war between 1914 and 1918. For four years, the British and the Germans fought over the towns of Menin and Ypres without much success. 15 renowned artists are commissioned to transform their interpretation of the horror on the road during 1914-1918 into a work of art. In 2016, they will install their works of art along or near the road as milestones or signposts along the way. A major event will take place on the Menin-Ypres Road during the weekend of 3 and 4 September 2016. It features an extensive programme of music, literature and visual arts in various locations along the road and in the proximity of the works of art.

i Address Road N8 from Menin to Ypres Contact + 32 (0)56 95 24 25 toerisme@wervik.be Website www.wervik.be

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2016

05 JAN 2016 > 01 MAY 2016

WAR IN SHORT PANTS EXHIBITION

‘BUILDING THE FRONT’ DOUBLE EXHIBITION

Sint-Pietersabdij Ghent

Memorial Museum Passchendaele Zonnebeke

WWI was more than just trenches and mustard gas. For the first time in history, an entire society was under arms as the war dominated every aspect of daily life. Even children were affected. For many of them the world changed when their fathers were suddenly gone or when they had to flee their familiar surroundings. The Great War entered their little worlds even through seemingly innocent channels like literature, toys and colouring books. Until the early 20th century, children were regarded (and treated) as miniature adults, a standard segment of society. This changed with the Great War. It was during this first global conflagration that children began to be viewed as individual subjects who could be politically manipulated. Thus, children began to play an important role in the wartime press. The Western nations found it necessary and even useful to involve children in the ‘glory’ of the battlefields. To this end, the same techniques and narrative forms that children had enjoyed in peacetime were used. These included comic strips, adventure novels, animal stories, colouring books and toys. In this way the destructive effects of war were inflicted specifically on children as well as on the adult society. The War in Short Pants exhibition uses literature, comic books, magazines, letters, diaries and toys to show how big an impact the Great War had on the lives of children and their families, thereby indirectly demonstrating how the social status of the child in Western society was changing. i Address Historische Huizen Ghent Sint-Pietersabdij Sint-Pietersplein 9 9000 Ghent

Contact +32 (0)9 243 97 30 sintpietersabdij@gent.be Website www.sintpietersabdijgent.be

MAR 2016 > JUL 2016

CANADA IN FLANDERS EXHIBITION

In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres Historical exhibition based on the Canadian presence in Belgium during WWI, with a focus on the second period (September 1915 - August 1916, with the Battle of Mount Sorrel). i E xhibition included in entrance ticket of the In Flanders Fields Museum. More information about the museum on p. 33.

22 APR 2016 > 18 DEC 2016

28 MAR 2016 > 30 NOV 2016

THE ART OF REMEMBRANCE EXHIBITION

Westfront Nieuwpoort

The art of remembrance is to be taken literally in Nieuwpoort. Art takes a prominent place in present-day Nieuwpoort as it did in 1916, albeit underground. A section of Belgian soldier-painters were assigned a dug-out in the ruins of the town, where they were to record the destruction on canvas. Thirteen painters captured the war in art, thus adding a touch of vitality and colour to a war-struck Nieuwpoort. Their work helps us to understand the tragedy.

During the year 1916, Zonnebeke was situated in the German occupied area. Despite limited military operations, a lot of activity occurred in this area. In 1916, a defence line of concrete fortifications and shelters was built by the Germans. The exhibition ‘Building the Front’ consists of two parts. The first exhibition in the Remembrance Hall shows how the German troops built their line of defence in 1916. The focus will not only be on the aspect of used material but also on the human part of the story, especially the efforts of the citizens as Zivilarbeiter. The second, open-air exhibition brings the visitor close to the battlefield experience. Visitors will be able to walk or to cycle along some still existing silent witnesses of WWI - accompanied by historical and useful tourist information.

Events

Other events in 2016

i Website www.passchendaele.be

11 NOV 2016

APR 2016 > NOV 2017

ARMISTICE REMEMBRANCE

LIFE IN OCCUPIED BELGIUM DURING WWI

SEP 2016 > DEC 2016

WRITTEN WAR EXHIBITION

Menin Gate, Ypres

Museum on the Yser

In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres In what ways does the written word tell the story of the war? The exhibition deals creatively with literature in form and content, with personal documents (letters, diaries), journalism and reporting. Furthermore, it also pays attention to important niches in the story, such as study circles, trench newspapers, pamphlets, reports, official or alternative historiography, and the relationship between the intangible heritage of a written text and the tangible heritage of the contemporary landscape.

i M ore information about Museum on the Yser view p. 41.

i Website www.toerisme-ieper.be

i E xhibition included in entrance ticket of the In Flanders Fields Museum. More information about the museum on p. 33.

i More information about the Westfront on p. 43.

COMMEMORATION YEAR 2016

COMINGWORLDREMEMBERME

Events

GONE WEST: COMINGWORLDREMEMBERME (2014-2018)

PROGRAMME 2017-2018 2014-2018

Ypres

Visit one of the workshops in Schore, Nieuwpoort or Ypres (1,5 hour) to make a sculpture. i Address Kazemat 5 8900 Ieper Contact lotte.moeyaert@vzwkunst.be Website www.cwrm.be/en www.facebook.com/comingworldrememberme

Opening hours Group Workshops can be booked for max 40 persons. Workshop Ypres open for individuals from Tuesday to Saturday 13:30 - 18:30

Prices Workshop €10.00 (half goes to charity) Become a patron online €5.00

JUN 2017 > NOV 2017

THE BATTLE OF THE DUNES

JUL 2017 > SEP 2017

1917: FROM MINE EXPLOSIONS TO SEAS OF MUD EXHIBITIONS AND TRAVEL ROUTES

Westfront Nieuwpoort

In Flanders Fields

The Battle of the Dunes is a forgotten battle. Very few people know that Nieuwpoort was part of the plans for the Passchendale offensive in the summer of 1917. This was pre-empted by the very first German mustard gas attack. Nieuwpoort’s vital sluices were saved by Scottish regiments at a great loss of life.

APR 2017 > NOV 2018

THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF SOLDIERS IN UNOCCUPIED BELGIUM EXHIBITION

Museum on the Yser

i M ore information about Museum on the Yser view p. 41.

12 JUN 2017

INTERNATIONAL CEREMONY

Zonnebeke

CHINA IN POPERINGE EXHIBITION AND FESTIVAL

Poperinge ©www.westhoekverbeeldt.be

In the spring of 2018, the installation will be installed on one of the most hard-won places of WWI: the no man’s land of the frontline around Ypres. Each clay sculpture will get its place between two large sculptures made by artist Koen Vanmechelen. The impressive land art installation ComingWorldRememberMe will remind us of the uselessness of war: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Thanks to the commitment of all participants, the past, the present and the future will become connected and ComingWorldRememberMe will eventually turn into a cross-border and crossgenerational symbol of peace.

03 APR 2017 > 30 NOV 2017

©westtoer

From 2014 to 2018, by moulding 600,000 sculptures out of clay, thousands of people from across Flanders and the rest of the world will take part in the making of the installation ComingWorldRememberMe. Each and every sculpture represents one of the 600,000 victims who lost their lives due to WWI in Belgium. After being baked in the oven, all the sculptures will be identified by a dog tag, the universal system of identification for soldiers. On this dog tag will be the name of one of the victims mentioned on the ‘The Name List’ composed by the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres. Each dog tag will also bear the name of the maker of that specific sculpture. In this way, different generations and nationalities will be united in the commemoration.

The visitor will be confronted with the story and the relics of the infamous Mine Battle and the Battle of Passchendaele (1917). This is done through exhibitions and information modules of major WWI sites in the southern Westhoek (In Flanders Fields Museum, Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, Heuvelland, Messines, Poperinge, Langemark-Poelkapelle and Houthulst). Thematic discovery trails connect all these WWI sites through walking, cycling and car trips. i M ore information about the In Flanders Field Museum on p. 33.

The Chinese presence in the Westhoek and the preconceptions of a foreign culture are the focus of this exhibition. The associated application brings visitors to historic places. In the first weekend of September 2017 Poperinge will be immersed in a truly Chinese ambience: A festival will bring dragons, a Chinese buffet, lanterns and tea houses, music, song and dance workshops and calligraphy to town.

Various nations will be represented to commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele.

PROGRAMME 2017-2018

Events

14 OCT 2017

21 APR 2018 > 15 DEC 2018

SILENT CITY MEETS LIVING CITY REMEMBRANCE

Tyne Cot Cemetery

The international commemoration event ‘Silent City meets Living City’ symbolises the many victims of the Battle of Passchendaele. Every single gravestone (around 12,000) will be honoured.

THE FINAL OFFENSIVE: THE YANKS ARE COMING

Memorial Museum Passchendaele

The municipality of Zonnebeke will cooperate with the city of Waregem and the municipality of Heuvelland to launch an exhibition about the American Expeditionary Forces. Each partner will illustrate specific elements of the American story in Flanders.

APR 2018 > DEC 2018

THE MILITARY OFFENSIVES OF 1918: SPRING AND LIBERATION

In Flanders Fields Museum

i M ore information about In Flanders Fields Museum view p. 33.

23 APR 2018 > 30 AUG 2018

WWI, THE BATTLE FOR THE NORTH SEA EXHIBITION

As the former headquarters of the Marinekorps Flandern, the Provincial Court in Bruges provides the ideal backdrop for the exhibition “WWI, the Battle for the North Sea”. Using historical artefacts and never-before-seen illustrations, this exhibition aims to shed light on the little-known story of the war at sea and the essential role of Bruges as the nerve centre of the entire operation.

©westtoer

ARMISTICE REMEMBRANCE

CEREMONY KARABINIERS - GRENADIERS

Zonnebeke

Sunday, 28 September 2018 commemorates the start of the great Allied offensive that led to the end of WWI. After days of violent clashes, the demolished remains were finally taken by the Belgian Carabiniers and Grenadiers. The ceremony - accompanied by music - starts with a Eucharistic service, followed by various services at the monuments and memorial plaques in Passchendaele.

APR 2018 > DEC 2019

Museum on the Yser

The German Marinekorps Flandern had established a well-oiled war machine in the coastal area between the front line and the Dutch border. Given the region’s exceptional strategic importance as a base of operations for naval and aerial battles in the North Sea, the German occupying forces installed a vast network of ports, artillery batteries, bunkers and airfields in this area. Operating from the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge, they sank no fewer than 2,550 allied ships. Eventually, this intense submarine warfare partly triggered the American decision to join WWI.

Menin Gate, Ypres

SEP 2018

WAR PRISONERS DURING WWI EXHIBITION

Provincial Court, Bruges

11 NOV 2017 and 2018

i Address Provincial Court (Provinciaal Hof) Markt 3 8000 Bruges

i M ore information about Museum on the Yser view p. 41.

JUL 2018 > AUG 2018

HEALING EXHIBITION, ART, MOBILE APPLICATION AND EXPERIENCE ROUTE

Poperinge

A mobile application helps visitors to navigate through the exhibition about the role of women in Poperinge during WWI.

02 APR 2018 > 30 NOV 2018

ARCHITECTURE AND WAR

Westfront Nieuwpoort

11 November 1918. Armistice Day. Three Flemish towns, Ypres, Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort, had paid dearly for their front line location. Their destruction and that of the villages and farms in the surrounding countryside was complete, yet farmers, fishermen and citizens returned home from France and Britain to take up the thread of their lives. Brick by brick the medieval towns and villages were rebuilt from the ruins. i Website www.westfrontnieuwpoort.be

PROGRAMME 2017-2018

WALLONIE

FRANCE NEDERLAND North Sea

WORLD WAR I SITES

MECHELEN

FLANDERS BRUSSELS

North Sea

BRUGES Nieuwpoort

Calais

Nieuwpoort

Veurne

Diksmuide

Flanders Fields Poperinge

Veurne

Ypres & surroundings

North Sea

BRUGES

Mesen

Diksmuide

Roeselare

Zonnebeke

Ypres

Waregem

Throughout the war, Ypres and the Ypres Salient, the area around Ypres, was the scene of the heaviest battles. As a result Ypres was reduced to rubble and at the beginning of May 1915 all remaining inhabitants were evacuated turning Ypres into a ghost town. These fierce battles have left their marks on the landscape around the city. From 1919 the first inhabitants returned to their destroyed city and gradually the reconstruction began. At first the returnees and new inhabitants lived in wooden shelter homes. From 1921 onwards, the actual reconstruction started including the faithful restoration of Ypres’ most important historic monument: the Cloth Hall.

KORTRIJK

Lille

Flanders Fields Poperinge

Roeselare

Zonnebeke

Ypres Mesen

Waregem

KORTRIJK

i www.toerisme-ieper.be

German flag

British flag

Belgian flag

Scottish flag

American flag

Welsh flag

Canadian flag

Irish flag

Australian flag

French flag

New Zealand flag

The newly renovated In Flanders Fields Museum takes prime place as a must-see attraction in Ypres. A new permanent exhibition focuses on personal stories of ordinary people and establishes a link to the landscape of WWI in West Flanders. The museum has doubled in size and now hosts a WWI knowledge centre. More than 2,000 original objects and documents are on display and visitors can follow four personal stories through interactive kiosks. New scenography highlights the most recent museum applications, including touch screens, interactive poppy bracelets, video projections and soundscapes. Everything contributes to a rich experience and submerses visitors in life on the front. In addition, visitors can now climb the bell tower for a wonderful view of what was once a completely devastated region.

©milo-profi photography

Commonwealth flag

IN FLANDERS FIELDS MUSEUM

©milo-profi photography

List of flags

Sites

Lille

On the following pages are some of the different places to visit in the key towns and those places that are of specific interest for certain nations and regions are marked with their flag.

Indian flag

DEUTSCHLAND

WALLONIE

FRANCE

For four long years Flanders Fields was the scene of WWI. The landscape of the region still tells the story of the war. It contains hundreds of monuments and cemeteries which have great historical significance for the people of many nations. There are Calais numerous museums which explain in an interactive way all the aspects of the conflict: the battles, daily life, etc. WWI was the first truly global conflict. Victims from more than 50 countries are buried in Belgium. Certain spots in Flanders have forever been engraved in the collective memory of other countries and regions.

LEUVEN

i Address Cloth Hall Grote Markt 34 8900 Ypres

Contact +32 (0)57 239 220 flandersfields@ieper.be Website www.inflandersfields.be Opening hours 1 April - 15 November: Mon - Sun: 10:00 - 18:00 16 November - 31 March: Tue - Sun: 10:00 - 17:00 25 December & 1 January: Closed Price Adults: €9.00 Youth (ages 19-25): €5.00 Children (ages 7-18): €4.00 Children under 7: free Groups (min. 15): €7.00 Schools (min. 15): €4.00 Suppl. to visit the bell tower: €2.00 Groups must book at least 14 days in advance.

WORLD WAR I SITES

The church increasingly attracts visitors from all over the world, from Australia to America. Sir Reginald insisted on clear glass windows with small decorations instead of stained glass ones. The glass windows commemorate both individuals and regiments, for example, the Guards Regiments, twin brothers Captain Francis Octavius Grenfell and Riversdale Nonus Grenfell, South Irish Horse from Dublin, Monmouthshire Regiment, Captain George ThomasO’Donnel from County Mayo in Ireland and was given by his parents Edwin and Millicent Thomas-O’Donel. He was mentioned twice in dispatches and was awarded the Military Cross. Almost every item in the church serves as a permanent memorial to a soldier who gave his life in France and Flanders. i Website www.stgeorgesmemorialchurchypres.com

Menin Gate is the most famous Commonwealth War Memorial in Flanders and perhaps the world. Tens of thousands of soldiers passed through here on the way to the front, many of them never to return. Opened in 1927, the memorial bears the names of 54,896 soldiers who were reported missing in the Ypres Salient between the outbreak of war and 15 August 1917. Due to a lack of space, after this date names were listed at Tyne Cot. The exception to this was made for Australian and Canadian soldiers who were missing in action until the end of the war. There are no New Zealand names as their missing are commemorated in cemeteries near to where they died.

English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh soldiers along with Canadian, New Zealand and Australian soldiers are buried here. Also in this beautiful cemetery are ten Maoris, a working party of the New Zealand Maori (Pioneer) Battalion who were shelled near Ypres on 31 Decemeber 1917.

The Menin Gate was designed in classical style by Sir Reginald Blomfield. Every night at eight o’clock sharp the resounding bugle call of the volunteers from the Ypres Last Post Association, who are members of the Ypres Voluntary Fire Brigade, pay their respects to the fallen under the Menin Gate. More information about the Last Post on p. 12. © Toerisme Ieper

GERMAN MILITARY CEMETERY LANGEMARK

This memorial behind the Menin Gate is dedicated to the 130,000 soldiers of the Indian Forces who served in Flanders during the Great War. 9,000 members of the Indian Expeditionary Force died as casualties in France and Flanders, not only due to the nature of their injuries in battle but also due to the severe winter weather conditions they were exposed to.

ESSEX FARM/ SITE JOHN MCCRAE A total of 1,185 soldiers are buried at Essex Farm, including one of the youngest casualties of the war: Valentine Joe Strudwick was just 15 years old when he was killed. Next to the cemetery, you can still see the concrete bunkers in which a dressing station was housed. It was in one of these primitive ‘dug-outs’ that the Canadian military doctor John McCrae wrote his world-famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ at the beginning of May 1915.

The largest French military cemetery in Belgium contains 4,200 graves, including 69 Islamic tombs. A Breton Pieta by the Sculptor J. Fréour is located at the front of the site, mourning over the lost dead.

Langemark

Behind its monumental entrance building lie some 44,300 German soldiers, half of whom are buried in a mass grave. Over 3,000 cadets and student volunteers are among the dead, which is why the cemetery is also called the Studentenfriedhof.

The Brooding Soldier, a 33 foot high granite monument representing a grieving Canadian soldier, in memory of the 2,000 soldiers who died in 1915 as a result of a gas attack in the Second Battle of Ypres. ©Westtoer

INDIAN FORCES MEMORIAL

The New Irish Farm Cemetery opened at the outbreak of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). It was named after a nearby farm. During the final German advance from April to May 1918, new graves were added. At the time of the Armistice, it contained 73 graves but was then greatly enlarged with more than 4,500 new graves.

THE BROODING SOLDIER, SINT-JULIAAN

Langemark

i Website www.lastpost.be

SAINT CHARLES DE POTYZE

©Westtoer

It was decided to build a school as well which would be paid for by donations made by Old Etonians and would serve as a memorial to the approximately three hundred and forty pupils who had given their lives in the Ypres Salient. The school was known as Eton Memorial School and for many years provided education for children of the British employees of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The community fled during the Second World War and only a few returned afterwards leading to the closure of the school. Amongst the visitors was King Leopold III, King of the Belgians, who had attended Eton College during WWI and Fabian Ware, founder of the IWGC.

NEW IRISH FARM CEMETERY

RAMPARTS CEMETERY

©milo-profi photography

Sites

This Anglican Church was built to commemorate the dead, a meeting place for visiting relatives and to keep alive the memory of the sacrifices made in Ypres and the Ypres Salient. It was first mooted in August 1919 and was the result of an initiative led by the Ypres League whose president was the Canadian, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Beckles Willson, who was also instrumental in the creation of the Imperial War Museum. The Ypres League contacted Sir Reginald Blomfield to draw plans for a memorial church.

MENIN GATE

ST. GEORGE’S MEMORIAL CHURCH

WELSH NATIONAL MEMORIAL PARK

Langemark

The red dragon, built on a dolmen (in Welsh “cromlech”), stands in the middle of an area that was conquered by Welsh troops on 31 July 1917. It looks in the direction of Passchendaele, the village that would only be taken three months later at the expense of half a million victims. The surrounding park is dedicated to all Welsh people involved in the Great War, both soldiers and civilians.

MEMORIAL AND GRAVE OF FRANCIS LEDWIDGE

Artillery Wood Cemetery

Although a fierce opponent of British rule over Ireland, Francis Ledwige joined up after his girlfriend had left him. He wrote many of his famous poems during this last phase of his life. He was killed during the Battle of Langemark in the summer of 1917. Ledwige rests at Artillery Wood Cemetery and has his own memorial close by. WORLD WAR I SITES

Sites

BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY

HILL 60

Zillebeke

Hill 60’s crater landscape is an authentic testament from the Great War. The artificial hill from 1850 lies about 60 meters above sea-level, hence the name. During the war, this site saw some heavy fighting and changed sides frequently. Both parties took part in the underground war which led to the blowing of numerous mines from 1915 onwards. The explosion from the Berlin Tunnel on 7 June 1917 gave the landscape it’s current shape. Countless soldiers worked in the cold and the dark of the mine tunnels. Some of them have never left. In this sense, Hill 60 is their cemetery.

This cemetery, just outside Ypres, is one of the largest British cemeteries in the Westhoek. Amongst others, it holds 20 Indian graves. Bedford House Cemetery stands in what was once the park of Rosendael Castle, which the British troops renamed ‘Bedford House’ during WWI. The castle served as a headquarter and as a medical aid post. Several small cemeteries were started in the castle grounds. The magnificent garden architecture makes Bedford House Cemetery a unique WWI site. ©Westtoer

The Hooge Crater Museum owes its name to a pair of historical events that took place during the Great War. Until the start of WWI, the ‘t Hooghe castle stood on top of the ‘t Hooghe hill in Zillebeke. During the war, the castle that served as the British HQ, was totally destroyed. In 1915, the British blew up a number of tunnels, which created a large crater to the north of the castle. During the 1920s, a chapel was built nearby in memory of those killed in WWI. Following renovation works, it was sold to a private individual who amassed a valuable collection of weapons, uniforms and equipment from the four different armies that took part in WWI. Among the most striking items on display are the lifesized tableaux that show what daily life during the war was like. Today, in the former local schoolhouse, there is a themed café where you can admire a collection of decorated shell casings (trench art). i Address Hooge Crater Museum Meenseweg 467, Zillebeke 8902

THE MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF PASSCHENDAELE 1917

©Westtoer

There are many other cemeteries and memorials in The Ypres Salient. After the war, the British government decided not to repatriate the British dead, but to have them buried on Belgian soil. The impressive cemeteries of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) are characterised by long rows of white memorial stones embedded in the landscape. In the shadow of the Cross of Sacrifice and the Stone of Remembrance, which hold a permanent place on the sites of the CWGC, you will find the individual graves of soldiers from the four corners of the former British Empire - British, New Zealanders, Australians, Canadians, South Africans - and also troops from India and the Caribbean.

i www.passchendaele.be

Another part takes the visitor into the brand new extension of the museum dedicated to the Battle of Passchendaele. This part of the museum explores the international dimension of the war, focusing on the involvement of the various nations during the battle. A scale model creates the link to the war landscape. Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 (MMP1917) keeps the memory alive of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, the cruelest battle of WWI in which almost half a million soldiers died, went missing or were seriously injured. Housed in a striking chateau, the museum in Zonnebeke focuses on the military history of the war, including uniforms, weaponry, engineered constructions and battlefield archaeology.

Contact 32 (0)57 46 84 46

Opening hours Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-18:00 Sunday 10:00-21:00

The name Zonnebeke probably doesn’t sound very familiar, but almost everyone has heard of its neighbouring village: Passchendaele. It was here that, in 1917, the British army fought for several months in a desperate bid to break the German line. They advanced just 5 miles at a cost of almost 400,000 killed, wounded and missing soldiers. Little wonder that the village was known to the troops as ‘Passion Dale’ - the Valley of Suffering.

There is a commemorative column in honour of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company and the bunker built by Australian troops above the existing German shelter.

Website www.hoogecrater.com

Zonnebeke

Besides the Dugout Experience - which includes five new rooms - there is a new Trench Experience, a reconstructed network of German and British trenches along which original shelters have been rebuilt. It offers a unique experience on how life evolved in the trenches throughout the war years.

The museum consists of five parts.

The memorial gallery is dedicated to the commemoration and remembrance of the many hundreds of thousands of victims who fought and, first and foremost, suffered here.

The first part is dedicated to a single year of the Great War and gives an historical overview of the major events at the Front in the region. Experience how the British lived underground in 1917 through a unique Dugout Experience with communication and first aid stations, headquarters and sleeping-places.

Finally, there is the famous art work of the New Zealand artist Hellen Pollock ‘Falls the Shadow’, baked with clay from Passchendaele and The Coromandel in New Zealand. This artwork is a haven in the museum where visitors can reflect on the suffering of the millions of people who were, directly or indirectly, victims of the Great War.

i Address Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 Berten Pilstraat 5/A 8980 Zonnebeke

Sites

HOOGE CRATER PRIVATE MUSEUM

Contact +32 (0)51 77 04 41 toerisme@zonnebeke.be Website www.passchendaele.be Opening hours Daily 09:00 - 18:00 (Last entry 16:30) 16 December - 31 January Closed Price Adults: €7.50 Children under 12: free Students: €5.00 Groups (min 15 persons): €5.00 Groups must book in advance

Tour guides 2 hours: €60.00

i More information about other cemeteries on www.cwgc.org

WORLD WAR I SITES

TYNE COT CEMETERY

This monument was the first one to be erected in the region. It honours the memory of the 85th Canadian infantry (Nova Scotia) Battallion which suffered heavy losses during the Third Battle of Ypres at the end of October 1917.

In April 2018, the American and Belgian Poppy Gardens will officially open.

This marks the place where the Canadian corp saw fierce fighting during the second Battle of Passchendaele and won possession of the high ground at Crest Farm.

British cemetery with memorial to the 5th Australian Division. ‘Memorial to the Missing’ at the Buttes New British Cemetery for missing New Zealand soldiers. Site of the annual ANZAC Day ceremony.

SCOTTISH MEMORIAL FREZENBERG

BLACK WATCH MEMORIAL This statue of a Black Watch soldier, unveiled in May 2014, at the southwest edge of the Polygon Wood, is situated at almost exactly the same place that made history as the “Black Watch Corner” on 10/11 November 1914 when a German advance was halted. It constitutes a permanent tribute to the steadfastness of the legendary Black Watch Regiment and honours nearly 9.000 officers and soldiers killed and more than 20.000 injured during WWI.

This memorial is the only one on the former Western Front dedicated to all Scots and all those of Scottish descent who fought in France and Flanders during WWI. It is now the main site of remembrance activities for all Scots. This memorial also remembers those men of the South African Brigade who, throughout the war, fought with the Scots as part of the 9th (Scottish) Division.

During WWI Poperinge, or “Pop”, was the town situated directly behind the front lines. It was a place of temporary camps and hospitals where soldiers came to rest or to be medically taken care of. The troops had, amongst others, shops, restaurants, hotels, pubs, cinemas and theatres at their disposal. But the peaceful atmosphere was misleading as the city was exposed to daily bombardment. i www.toerismepoperinge.be

LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY AND VISITOR CENTRE From 1915 to 1920 the hamlet of Lijssenthoek (Boescheepseweg) was the site of the largest evacuation hospital along the Ypres Salient and is now the second largest commonwealth cemetery in Belgium. Today, Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery bears witness to more than four years of warfare, with the graves of 10,784 soldiers mainly British but also some French and German soldiers too. It also holds the grave of the only woman to be buried in a CWGC cemetery, a nurse, Nellie Spindler. The Visitor Centre, situated next to the cemetery, offers information on this unique site, including details about daily life in the hospital and the creation of the cemetery.

i Address Lijssenthoek Cemetery Visitor Centre Boescheepseweg 35A 8970 Poperinge

Contact +32 (0)57 34 66 76 toerisme@poperinge.be Website www.lijssenthoek.be

Opening hours Open all year Daily: 09:00 - 18:00

Price Free access

Tour guides Book a guide at the Tourist Office Fully accessible to disabled visitors

©Westtoer

©Zenon B

This cemetery contains commonwealth soldiers killed in the battlefield around Polygon Wood. It contains the 5th Australian Division Memorial and the New Zealand Memorial. Site of the annual ANZAC Day ceremony.

This memorial commemorates the New Zealand Division’s participation in the Battle of Broodseinde on 4 October 1917. This attack by ANZAC forces successfully pushed forward the allied trench line in the early part of the Passchendaele offensive but was followed by the inadequately prepared attack of 12 October 1917. The memorial was unveiled on 2 August 1924 by the New Zealand High Commissioner in London, Sir James Allen, who had been Minister of Defence in New Zealand during the war.

Poperinge CREST FARM CANADIAN MEMORIAL

BUTTES NEW BRITISH CEMETERY

NEW ZEALAND MEMORIAL AT ’S GRAVENTAFEL

Sites

In April 2016, the German Poppy Garden will officially open for the public. The chateau grounds will be transformed into a pioneer park where you can experience experimental archaeology.

This is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission military cemetery in continental Europe, with almost 12,000 tombstones. The back wall of the graveyard is inscribed with the names of 34,957 missing soldiers who fell in the Battle for Passchendaele. The graveyard can be reached from the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 along a 3 km (2 mile) walking and cycling path.

In the new ‘Passchendaele Memorial Park’ heritage, nature and recreation go hand in hand. It will feature the “Passchendaele Memorial Gardens”, consisting of seven gardens in the form of a poppy intended to serve as a reminder for all the nations who fought during WWI. They will be completed in the coming years of commemoration.

85TH CANADIAN MEMORIAL

©Westtoer

Sites

PASSSCHENDAELE MEMORIAL PARK

WORLD WAR I SITES

©Westtoer

TALBOT HOUSE: EVERY MAN’S CLUB

The most well-known soldiers’ club of the Great War has been renovated. The garden and various rooms in the house have been restored, including the chapel, kitchen and hall.

During the Great War the courtyard of Poperinge Town Hall was used as an execution site. Several British soldiers faced the firing squad here. Today, this is a symbolic site for reflection and remembrance. Visitors to the death cells are confronted with a video image of a soldier waiting to be shot at dawn and can read graffiti left by prisoners. In 2016 the Brittish executions in Poperinge will be commemorated. view p. 24.

A brand new tablet application has also been developed: Tubby’s Story Tablets are digital guides that invite the visitor to follow them through the museum, garden and house. The application helps each guest to navigate the grounds, pausing along the way to tell stories about Talbot House. Besides a museum, Talbot House is still the Every Man’s Club it has always been. Visitors can enjoy a cup of tea in the canteen or book a room and spend the night in its guest house! The 100th anniversary of Talbot House will be celebrated in December 2015. More information on p. 14.

Price Free access

Tour guides Book a guide at the tourist office

MUSEUM ON THE YSER (YSER TOWER)

What remains of our lives? How did the soldiers try to live a normal life at the front? What did people take with them when they had to flee suddenly? How did the front line soldiers try to deal with the traumatic experiences of the war once they were at home? In this exhibition the message of peace is presented in an implicit way. What remains of the country? This question refers to the scars in the landscape caused by the war and creates connections with the further surroundings of the Yser valley. It also refers to the Belgian patriotism at the beginning of the war as well as the Flemish nationalism and the Flemish Movement during and after WWI. From the panorama hall on the roof terrace, 273 feet above the ‘Flanders Fields’, you have a unique view over the entire area from Nieuwpoort by the coast to Ypres and Ploegsteert. All WWI sites are clearly signposted.

Contact +32 (0)57 34 66 76 toerisme@poperinge.be

Opening hours Daily 06:00 - 22:00

i www.flandersfields.be

The recently renovated Museum on the Yser focuses on the Belgian-German military confrontation during WWI as well as on the Flemish Emancipation. It emphasises the message of peace with the slogan ‘What remains of our lives? What remains of the country?’

i Address Tourism Poperinge Grote Markt 1 8970 Poperinge

Website www.toerismepoperinge.be

Diksmuide was reduced to rubble during WWI. It was the scene of the famous Battle of the Yser in 1914, where with huge losses French and Belgian troops finally stopped the German advance. The old town centre was rebuilt completely after the armistice.

i Address Talbot House Gasthuisstraat 43 8970 Poperinge

Contact Tel +32 (0)57 33 32 28 info@talbothouse.be Website www.talbothouse.be Opening hours Tuesday-Sunday 10:00 - 17:30 Monday Closed

Price Adults: €8.00 Children: €5.00 Groups: €6.00 (advance bookings only) Schools: €5.00 Trade: €6.00 Tour guides There are no guided tours, but for groups a general introduction to Talbot House can be provided on request (advance notice required).

i Address Ijzerdijk 49 8600 Diksmuide

Contact +32 (0)51 50 02 86 info@aandeijzer.be Website www.aandeijzer.be Opening hours 1 April - 30 September 09:00 - 18:00 (last entry 17:30) 1 October - 31 March 09:00 - 17:00 (last entry 16:30) Weekends and public holidays open from 10:00 Closed: 24, 25, 26 & 31 December; 1 & 2 January; three weeks after the Christmas holiday

Sites

EXECUTION SITE/ DEATH CELLS

Diksmuide & surroundings

Price INDIVIDUALS Adults: €8.00 Ages 65 or over: €6.00 Ages 18-25: €5.00 Ages 7-17: €2.50 GROUPS (min. 20) Adults: €6.00 Ages 65 or over: €6.00 Ages 18-25: €4.00 Ages 7-17: €2.50 Guides €25.00/hour

WORLD WAR I SITES

Sites

DEATH TRENCH

Known as Vladslo, in Praetbos forest, this German cemetery is the final resting place of some 25,638 German soldiers. On display at the cemetery is a moving sculpture, The Grieving Parents. Created by Käthe Kollwitz, a major German expressionist artist, out of personal grief and love for her 18-year old son Peter, who was killed in the war.

Nieuwpoort ‘Town by the water’, the current motto of Nieuwpoort was even more true during the Great War. It was water that halted the German invaders in Flanders. A miracle made possible by the know-how of two locals and a handful of Belgian officers and soldiers. And yes, British officers had entertained a similar idea shortly before. The Belgians opened the sluices of Nieuwpoort and managed a controlled flooding of the Yser estuary. This genius plan ensured the safety of the French Channel Ports and, as a direct consequence; the BEF was not cut off from its supplies and its homeland. Brains rather than blood had gained a decisive victory, with water as an ally. The incident was even described as a new kind of Waterloo by some. i www.westfrontnieuwpoort.be

©Westtoer

This is the exact site where, regiment after regiment, the entire Belgian army toiled, fought and struggled for life. The site also constituted the heart of the resistance until the morning of the glorious offensive of 28 September 1918. It remains one of the most evocative reminders of the war in the Westhoek. A one kilometre (0.6 mile)-long network of revetments, saps and dug-outs, the trench was one of the most dangerous Belgian positions on the Western Front, situated just 50 metres (55 yards) from a German bunker. As a result, it was subjected to almost constant fire from German snipers and machine guns. The Death Trench was completely renovated in 2014.

VLADSLO GERMAN MILITARY CEMETERY

Contact +32 (0)51 50 53 44

Opening hours 1 April - 15 November Daily 10:00 - 17:00 (last entry 16:30) 16 November - 31 March Tuesday & Friday 09:30 - 16:00 (last entry 15:30) Closed between 25 December and 3 January

Houthulst

The most well-known Belgian war cemetery, with 1,855 graves arranged in the form of a sixpointed star. The victims fell mainly during the liberation offensive of 1918. It is located in the heart of Houthulst forest and also holds 81 Italian soldiers.

©Westtoer

Price Free entrance

©Westtoer

i Address Ijzerdijk 65 8600 Diksmuide

The Grieving Parents by Käthe Kollwitz is a world-famous work of art that symbolises the terrible suffering that war inflicted on the German military cemetery at Vladso. More of her work can be seen in the nearby Käthe Kollwitz Tower in Koekelare, which houses seventy of her graphic works. Her art is characterised by a deep compassion for all victims of poverty, exploitation and oppression. Her pacifism and abhorrence of war can be clearly felt throughout her works. The tourist information centre located in the same building sells postcards featuring her work. A museum guide is also available.

i Address Käthe Kollwitz Tower Sint-Maartensplein 15, Koekelare 8680

Contact + 32 (0)51 61 04 94

Westfront Nieuwpoort tells the full story of the flooding of the plains, bringing the German invasion to a halt at the outskirts of the city. It is the story of the power of the sea and the smart handling of the water locks. The perfect place to tell the story of the flooding is the King Albert Ist monument on the edge of the lock complex “The Ganzepoot”. A modern and interactive visitor centre was built underneath the monument. A highlight of the visit is definitely the projection of the 377 feet long and 49 feet high animated Yser-Panorama painting. Last but not least, do not forget to visit the top of the monument itself and enjoy the panoramic view over the coast and the hinterland.

i Address Kustweg 1 8620 Nieuwpoort

Contact +32 (0)58 22 44 22 info@westfrontnieuwpoort.be Website www.westfrontnieuwpoort.be Opening hours 19/10 - 31 DEC 2014 daily 10:00-17:00 closed 25/12 & JAN 01 JAN 01 - 31 MAR 2015 weekends: 10:00-17:00 JAN 04 - 15 NOV 2015 daily 10:00 - 18:00

Price Adults: €7.00 0-6 years: free 7 - 25 years: €5.00 GROUPS (min. 20) Adults: €5.50 7-25 year: €3.50 Schools: €3.00 Adults over 65: €4.00 Tour guides €50.00

Sites

BELGIAN MILITARY CEMETERY

VISITOR CENTRE WESTFRONT NIEUWPOORT

KÄTHE KOLLWITZ MUSEUM

Koekelare

Website www.koekelare.be

WORLD WAR I SITES

Mesen (Messines) & surroundings

Sites

The Battle of Messines from 7 - 9 June 1917 was a preparatory step to the larger 3rd Battle of Ypres Offensive in 1917, known as Passchendaele. Its goal was to seize the Messines Ridge, securing the flank of the Ypres. Mesen has a special place in the history of Irish people. It was here, on 7 June 1917, that two Irish divisions - the 16th Division from Catholic Eire and the 36th Division from Protestant Ulster - fought side by side. Also, the New Zealand Division took part in the Messines Offensive with 8,000 soldiers.

The once impregnable German trenches on the hill played an important role in the Battle of the Mines. The French named the area Bayernwald.

AMERICAN MONUMENT

KEMMEL HILL

Kemmel

A heavy rectangular block on a wide rectangular platform honours the 27th and 30th American divisions. The monument was built in 1929 by the American Battle Monuments Commission and was created after a design made by George Howe from Philadelphia.

French Ossuary Kemmel

The ossuary contains 5,294 bodies of fallen soldiers, of which only 57 have been identified. Most of these French soldiers were killed on the hill during the second battle for Kemmel Hill. A column stands at the centre of the cemetery and is topped with the traditional French mascot, a cockerel.

i www.flandersfields.be

VRIJ VADERLAND (FREE FATHERLAND)

POOL OF PEACE One of the 19 craters blownon 7 June 1917, prior to the Battle of Messines. It is situated in the sector of the 36th (Ulster) Division. When the mine exploded several minutes too late, the blast also killed several Ulster soldiers. Today, this peaceful reminder is one of many scars in the landscape.

The experience centre in the historic town of Veurne focuses on the last remaining section of Belgium that was not occupied by the Germans, the so-called Belgian Sector. From here, King Albert I succeeded in resisting the German occupying forces. Veurne and the surrounding region were populated by people from all over the country, from other continents as well as by refugees, doctors and nurses. In the experience centre visitors can experience the events behind the front line, the daily life in this last unoccupied sector of Belgium. They can also witness a real melting pot of people, a multicultural community before the concept even existed. “Vrij Vaderland” uses an interesting scenography to tell this story, combining modern media with traditional exhibition techniques.

i Address Stad- en Landshuis Grote Markt 29 8630 Veurne Contact +32 (0)58 33 55 31 info@vrijvaderland.be Website www.vrijvaderland.be Opening hours 1 April - 11 November: Mon - Fri: 9:00 - 17:00 Sa - So & public holidays: 10:00 - 17:00 12 November - 31 March: Mo - Fri: 9:00 - 17:00 Sat - Sun & public holidays: 13:00 - 17:00 25 December & 1 January: closed Price Adults: €4.00 65+: €3.00 Children (7-18): €2.00 Groups (min. 15 persons): €3.00 Schools: €2,00

FLANDERS FIELD AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL

Waregem

The only American WWI cemetery in Belgium. The Americans entered the war in 1917. The majority of the 370 fallen soldiers lost their lives during the final offensive in 1918. This 6,2 acre site consists of graceful trees and shrubbery with paths leading to circular retreats. A white stone chapel is set in the centre of the headstones in the cemetery.

Sites

This new museum and visitor centre have a fine collection of artefacts. The story of the Battle of Messines is told through multimedia displays. A focus is given to the town and the New Zealanders.

Other interesting sites in Flanders and Brussels

Veurne

©Westtoer

MUSEUM AND VISITOR CENTRE MESSINES

Considering his age, Major William Redmond MP wasn’t even supposed to be on the battlefield during the Battle of Messines. After he got shot twice, he was carried off the battlefield by John Meeke, a Protestant soldier. He reached the Casualty Clearing Station at the Catholic Hospice at Locre, where he died. The nuns buried him in the grounds of the hospice and then he was moved to the Commonwealth cemetery, but at the request of his family he was moved again to outside the cemetery walls.

©Westtoer

The Peace Park with its traditional Irish round tower pays tribute to all Irish soldiers who fell during the war, regardless of their background. The nine talking stones tell their tale through poetry, prayer and diaries, while the Peace Pledge calls on Protestants and Catholics to forgive each other. Inside, the Irish Memorial Records can be found. The park was officially opened on 11 November 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II and the Irish president.

GRAVE OF WILLIAM REDMOND

©Westtoer

ISLAND OF IRELAND PEACE PARK

BAYERNWALD

Wijtschate

WORLD WAR I SITES

Sites

THE TOWER OF THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

GARDENING DURING WARTIME

Leuven

The university library tower is one of the most important landmarks in Leuven city centre. An evocative and innovative representation of the destruction and reconstruction of the town of Leuven that took place as a result of WWI (and to a lesser degree WWII) is exhibited in the closed part of the tower. A highlight of the visit is the outside balcony where visitors can enjoy a unique view of the city of Leuven.

Sint-Katelijne-Waver

The Vegetable Museum ‘t Grom in SintKatelijne-Waver brings history to life with a war garden. The museum tells the stories of ordinary people and their daily struggle for survival. It gives an account of hunger and scarcity, but also of the resilience and creativity of locals during wartime. Many of the vegetables cultivated and eaten at that time are no longer well-known, and are called ’forgotten vegetables’ nowadays. i Address Vegetable Museum ’t Grom Midzelen 25a 2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver Contact +32 (0)15 31 50 55 info@tgrom.be Website www.tgrom.be

i Address Mgr. Ladeuzeplein 21 3000 Leuven Opening hours Monday, Wednesday, Friday to Sunday: 10:00 - 17:00 Tuesday, Thursday: 13:00 - 17:00, in the morning exclusively to groups Closed on public holidays

Opening hours Monday & Wednesday-Friday: 10:00 16:00 Sunday (March-December): 13:00 - 18:00 Closed: Tuesday, Saturday, Public holidays Winter Break till 1 February 2015 for groups and till 1 March 2015 for individual visitors Price Standard: €6.00 Reductions for children, seniors, students, visitors with disabilities, groups Reservation required for groups

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

AUG 2014 > 2018

MINI-EUROPE

Brussels

The park contains miniatures of Europe’s most famous places. A remembrance trail has been devised, taking visitors to all Belgian and European monuments and buildings associated with WWI. This walk starts out in an area where the remembrance of WWI is symbolically reflected through 4 war cemeteries and various sculptures..

i Address Mini-Europe, Bruparck 1020 Brussels Contact +32 (0)2 478 05 50 info@minieurope.eu Website www.minieurope.eu

©Mini-Europe

Price Standard: €7.00 Trade: €4.00 (Reservations via trade.visitleuven@leuven.be)

WORLD WAR I SITES

COMMEMORATION 2015 Antwerp

Bruges

Brussels

Middelheim Museum SIGNED, THE ARTIST. A COLLECTION PRESENTATION

p.16

03 MAY 2014 > 14 SEP 2015

Museum aan de stroom (MAS) EXODUS, FLEEING THE WAR

p.16

20 MAY 2014 > 30 APR 2015

Red Star Line Museum FAR FROM THE WAR? BELGIAN IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA DURING WORLD WAR I EXHIBITION

p.16

Stadshallen THE WAR IN PICTURES/BRUGES AT WAR PHOTOGRAPHY HISTORICAL EXHIBITION

p.17

Royal Museum of the Army and of Military History EXPO: 14-18, IT’S OUR HISTORY Belvue Museum GENDER@WAR 14-18 EXHIBITION

Deinze

Diksmuide

Nieuwpoort

Poperinge

14 OCT 2014 > 22 FEB 2015

p.19 p.20

SEP 2015 > JAN 2016

Zonnebeke

Museum of Deinze and the Leie Region THROUGH GERMAN EYES: WORLD WAR I IN ETAPPENGEBIET WEST PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

p.17

Museum on the Yser (Yser Tower) THE BATTLE OF THE YSER EXHIBITION

p.18

10 OCT 2014 > 11 NOV 2018

Museum on the Yser (Yser Tower) EVOLUTION OF BELGIAN ARMY DURING WWI EXHIBITION

p.18

APR 2015 > NOV 2016

Westfront Nieuwpoort LES DEMOISELLES DE NIEUPORT TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

p.18

p.16

Kinderbrouwerij Reningelst ILLUSTRATED BY THE WAR, INTERPRETATIONS ON WWI EXHIBITION

p.18

De Lovie Castle THE SMELL OF WAR ARTISTIC CIRCUIT

21 FEB 2015 > 31 MAY 2015

22 APR 2015

CC Het Perron BABEL MULTIMEDIA DANCE SHOW

p.9

22 MAY 2015 > 24 MAY 2015

Menin Gate COMMEMORATION OF THE 30,000TH LAST POST

p.13

09 JUL 2015

Menin Gate ARMISTICE REMEMBRANCE

p.20

11 NOV 2015

Buttes New British Cemetery ANZAC-DAY CEREMONY

p.11

25 APR 2015

CONCERTS ANZAC DAY 2015

p.11

25 APR 2015 > 26 APR 2015

FLANDERS SCOTTISH MEMORIAL DAY

p.11

26 APR 2015

Landhuis Zonnedaele DECODING THE FRONT EXHIBITION

p.19

25 APR 2015 > 15 DEC 2015

Frezenberg BATTLE OF FREZENBERG CENTENARY

p.9

08 MAY 2015

Brussels

BOZAR THE POWER OF THE AVANT-GARDE ART EXHIBITION

p.25

23 SEP 2016 > 22 JAN 2017

Diksmuide

Museum on the Yser (Yser Tower) LIFE IN OCCUPIED BELGIUM DURING WWI

p.27

APR 2016 > NOV 2017

Diksmuide/ Veurne/ De Panne/ Koekelare/ Pervijze

STRONG WOMEN IN THE GREAT WAR HISTORICAL EXHIBITIONS

Ghent

Sint-Pietersabdij Ghent WAR IN SHORT PANTS EXHIBITION

p.26

05 JAN 2016 > 01 MAY 2016

Nieuwpoort

Westfront Nieuwpoort THE ART OF REMEMBRANCE EXHIBITION

p.26

28 MAR 2016 > 30 NOV 2016

Poperinge

Gasthuiskapel (Hospital chapel) SHOT AT DAWN EXHIBITION, ART INSTALLATION & MOBILE APPLICATION

p.24

Road MeninYpres

MENIN ROAD OPEN AIR EXHIBITION

p.25

03 JUN 2016 > 02 OCT 2016

Ypres

In Flanders Fields Museum CANADA IN FLANDERS EXHIBITION

p.26

MAR 2016 > JUL 2013

In Flanders Fields Museum WRITTEN WAR EXHIBITION

p.27

SEP 2016 > NOV 2017

Menin Gate ARMISTICE REMEMBRANCE

p.27

11 NOV 2016

Memorial Museum Passchendaele ‘BUILDING THE FRONT’ DOUBLE EXHIBITION

p.27

22 APR 2016 > 18 DEC 2016

p.9

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Visitor Centre FLANDERS FIELDS, FINAL DESTINATION POPERINGE MUSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION

p.18

from 01 MAY 2015

p.20

14 NOV 2015 > 14 DEC 2015

p.15

18 DEC 2015 > 20 DEC 2015 30 AUG 2014 > 31 DEC 2019

Zonnebeke

p.8

04 APR 2015 > 30 SEP 2015

30 APR 2015 > 03 MAY 2015

p.19

Ypres and Langemark-Poelkapelle CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION OF THE FIRST GAS ATTACK

15 NOV 2014 > 20 JUN 2015

COMMEMORATION 2016

De Lovie Castle FURIOUS FOLLY SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW

Rumbeke Castle ALBERT I: FIGHTING FOR PEACE EXHIBITION

p.8

19 SEP 2014 > 05 SEP 2015

p.8

Talbot House PIANO FESTIVAL POPERINGE

In Flanders Fields Museum SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES FIRST GAS ATTACK EXHIBITION

06 APR 2015 > 30 NOV 2015

24 APR 2015 > 31 AUG 2015

Talbot House DOVES - MYTHOLOGIES EXHIBITION

Roeselare

28 SEP 2014 > 06 APR 2015

07 FEB 2014 > 26 APR 2015

Gasthuiskapel (Hospital chapel) HEAVY TRAFFIC, RAILWAY TRAFFIC AND OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORT IN POPERINGE 1914-1918 DIORAMA, EXHIBITION AND APPLICATION

Ypres

p.22 p.23

MAY 2016 > DEC 2016

02 SEP 2016 > 13 NOV 2016

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

DISCOVER THE BATTLEFIELDS

Brochure ‘The Great War Centenary accessible to everyone

Provincial Court (Provinciaal Hof) WWI, THE BATTLE FOR THE NORTH SEA EXHIBITION

p.30

Diksmuide

Museum on the Yser (Yser Tower) THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF SOLDIERS IN UNOCCUPIED BELGIUM EXHIBITION

p.29

Museum on the Yser (Yser Tower) WAR PRISONERS DURING WWI EXHIBITION

p.31

APR 2018 > NOV 2019

Westfront Nieuwpoort THE BATTLE OF THE DUNES EXHIBITION

p.29

APR 2017 > NOV 2017

Westfront Nieuwpoort ARCHITECTURE AND WAR EXHIBITION

p.30

02 APR 2018 > 30 NOV 2018

HEALING EXHIBITION, ART, MOBILE APPLICATION AND EXPERIENCE ROUTE

p.31

JUL 2018 > AUG 2018

CHINA IN POPERINGE EXHIBITION AND FESTIVAL

p.29

JUL 2017 > SEP 2017

In Flanders Fields Museum 1917: FROM MINE EXPLOSIONS TO SEAS OF MUD EXHIBITIONS AND TRAVEL ROUTES

p.29

Menin Gate ARMISTICE REMEMBRANCE

p.30

In Flanders Fields Museum THE MILITARY OFFENSIVES OF 1918: SPRING AND LIBERATION

p.31

Menin Gate ARMISTICE REMEMBRANCE

p.30

11 NOV 2018

INTERNATIONAL CEREMONY

p.29

12 JUN 2017

Tyne Cot Cemetery SILENT CITY MEETS LIVING CITY REMEMBRANCE

p.30

14 OCT 2017

Memorial Museum Passchendaele THE FINAL OFFENSIVE: THE YANKS ARE COMING

p.30

21 APR 2018 > 15 DEC 2018

CEREMONY KARABINIERS - GRENADIERS

p.31

SEP 2018

Nieuwpoort

Poperinge

Ypres

Zonnebeke

23 APR 2018 > 30 AUG 2018 APR 2017 > NOV 2018

JUN 2017 > NOV 2017

11 NOV 2017 APR 2018 > NOV 2018

VISITFLANDERS has initiated the ‘The Great War Centenaryaccessible to everyone’ project, which strives to ensure overall accessibility of the commemoration for all visitors. It is seizing this opportunity to implement a comprehensively accessible holiday chain, by promoting the availability of information covering all aspects of an accessible stay: information and welcome, accommodation, restaurants, cafes, sites, transportation, parking, assistance and care, etc. The information is provided in a practical brochure. Not everything that claims to be accessible has been included in this brochure. Our information is always based on an objective and independent on-site inspection.

www.accessibleflanders.be post@accessinfo.be Accessible Travel Info Point Grasmarkt 61 1000 Brussels, Belgium +32 (0)2 504 03 40 +32 (0)2 504 04 05 Brochure: http://www.accessinfo.be/fileadmin/ bestanden/docs/Great_War.pdf

We use the A and A+ label of the Visit Flanders tourist office to indicate the level of accessibility of accommodation, tourist information offices and visitor centers. Specially developed for this project, the W (basic accessibility) and W+ (comfortable accessibility) symbols will be used for the other categories. These labels are only assigned after an extensive on-site inspection.

Bruges

Adaptations are often required to ensure easy accessibility for people with mobility problems to a building or site. Most of the information in the brochure is therefore primarily intended for those with mobility issues. However, we also report on initiatives offering additional facilities for e.g. visual, hearing or learning disabilities. Whether something is accessible depends to a large extent on the person concerned as each disability or limitation is different. We therefore also recommend contacting the initiative concerned beforehand to get the information needed from individual perspectives. While the information in the brochure is certainly not comprehensive, we believe it provides a good starting point. Additional information is available on request, and tips based on personal experiences are welcomed.

DISCOVER THE BATTLEFIELDS

PROGRAMME 2017-2018

DISCOVER THE BATTLEFIELDS

Interesting websites www.flandersfields.be This website provides all the information needed to discover the Flanders Fields region. It also provides useful information about places to stay in the Westhoek.

www.flandersfields1418.com The official website of Visit Flanders in the United Kingdom, it lists all the places of interest and events related to the Great War that are taking place in Flanders and Brussels.

Visiting the Westhoek (Flanders Fields) Some of the cemeteries, visitor centres and other sites in the Westhoek are difficult to reach by public transport. For this reason, if visitors do not have their own transport, we recommend booking an organised tour or renting a bicycle or car.

CYCLING IN THE WESTHOEK As in the rest of Flanders, you will find a network of numbered junctions in the Westhoek region. You can use these to create your own route. Visit www.toerismewesthoek.be.

Travelling to the Westhoek

There are also a number of themed cycling routes that will take you past WWI heritage sites. These routes can be viewed at www.flandersfields.be.

It is possible to travel by train to Ypres from every city in Flanders. This will generally require a change of train in Kortrijk.

You can find a list of cycle hire companies that operate in the Westhoek region at

Many cities throughout Flanders also offer full day organised coach tours of Flanders Fields, incorporating the main sites and the Last Post ceremony. More information about travelling by train:

www.belgianrail.be/en More information about organised coach tours:

www.flandersfields1418.com

www.toerismewesthoek.be/fietsverhuur

VISITING THE WESTHOEK BY CAR There are many car routes that allow visitors to discover the war landscape and its different landmarks. More information can be found on www.flandersfields.be Cars can be rented from the major car rental companies which have branches in Brussels, Bruges, Ostend and elsewhere in the region, as well as from local companies. Europcar has a rental point in Ypres; More information can be found on:

www.flandersfields1418.com

VISITING THE WESTHOEK BY COACH Organised bus tours Organised day excursions by coach to WWI sites are available in the Westhoek and in certain cities in Flanders, including Bruges, Ghent and Ostend. The programmes organised are featured here:

www.flandersfields1418.com

Coach parking There is coach parking available at the following locations close to important landmarks: pres: train station. More info about parking in Y Ypres: http://www.toerismeieper.be/images/ filelib/folderbusregeling2014low_1579.pdf operinge: Peperstraat/Oudstrijdersplein, P Sportzone Reningelstseweg - Ouderdomseweg, Zuidlaan (next to the ring road), Westlaan (next to the ring road), Lijssenthoek military cemetery Z onnebeke: Museum Passchendaele, Tyne Cot Cemetery iksmuide: Yser Tower, train station, 4AD music D club ieuwpoort: adjacent to the King Albert I N monument Some of the cemeteries, visitor centres and other sites in the Westhoek are difficult to reach by public transport. For this reason, if visitors do not have their own transport, we recommend booking an organised tour or renting a bicycle or car.

FLANDERS FIELDS FROM THE AIR AND ON THE WATER Skyview balloons organise balloon flights over the Great War Frontline: http://skyviewballoons.be Helipromotions organise helicopter flights

www.battlefields.be Alfa flight also organises flights: www.alfaflight.be Seastar organizes boat trips from Nieuwpoort to Diksmuide. www.seastars.be

Gastronomy in Flanders Fields Like all areas of Flanders, the Westhoek offers a large choice of restaurants in every price range. Websites of each town/city provide information about local restaurants.

www.toerisme-ieper.be www.toerismepoperinge.be www.toerisme.diksmuide.be www.nieuwpoort.be Information about restaurants elsewhere in Flanders is available from www.visitflanders.co.uk

DISCOVER THE BATTLEFIELDS

TRADE & PRESS INFORMATION

MCs/Incoming D Operators Admire Brigitte Boone www.admire.be brigitte.boone@admire.be +32 2 361 65 59 All About Belgium Kathleen Vermeiren www.aab-allaboutbelgium.be kathleen.vermeiren@aaballaboutbelgium.be +32 53 80 98 18 Belgian Biking Gert Verschueren www.belgianbiking.be belgianbiking@zuiderhuis.be +32 (0)9 233 45 33 De Boeck Incoming & Events Chantal Quirijnen www.deboeck-incoming.com info@deboeck-incoming.com +32 2 274 23 80 Event Masters Peter Van Avermaet www.eventmasters.be peter@eventmasters.be +32 3 860 60 80 Focus Flanders Michel Deswaene www.focusflanders.be michel.d@squatra.be + 32 9 269 90 62

Images There is a comprehensive range of images suitable for promoting the Great War Centenary in Flanders available to download from the Visit Flanders Flickr page. www.flickr.com/visitflanders

2 014-18 Flanders Fields / The Great War Centenary poppy logo The 2014-18 Flanders Fields and 2014-18 The Great War Centenary poppy logos are available for use by international trade and press. Get in touch with your local Visit Flanders contact for terms of use and to obtain an application form.

isit Flanders V international press and trade contacts AUSTRIA & SLOVAKIA TRADE Alexandra Raad Frostl a.raab-frostl@flandern.at PRESS Susanne Gosh s.gosch@flandern.at CHINA TRADE & PRESS Hongyu Chi chi.hongyu@visitflanders.com.cn FRANCE TRADE Anthony Forest aforest@visitflanders.fr PRESS Pascale Kotlarski Schuddings pkotlarski@visitflanders.fr GERMANY TRADE Britta Weidemann trade@flandern.com PRESS Christopher Philipp christopher.philipp@flandern.com INDIA TRADE & PRESS Dheera Majumder dheera@mileage.in ITALY TRADE Silvia Clarin s.clarin@turismofiandre.it PRESS Luca Lo Basso l.lobasso@turismofiandre.it

JAPAN TRADE Junko Iida tvltyo-iida@visitflanders.jp PRESS Tomomi Tsukakoshi tvltyo-tomomi@visitflanders.jp RUSSIA - REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE TRADE & PRESS russia@visitflanders.ru SCANDINAVIA TRADE & PRESS Lynn Dauwe lynn.dauwe@toerismevlaanderen.be SPAIN TRADE Judith Sala trade@flandes.net PRESS Angeles Alonso-Misol prensa@flandes.net SWITZERLAND - REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE TRADE & PRESS Fiorenzo F채ssler flandern@smarket.ch THE NETHERLANDS TRADE Joke Nivelle & Ingrid Bokma trade@toerismevlaanderen.nl PRESS Edith Andriesse & Natalie Siereveld pers@toerismevlaanderen.nl UNITED KINGDOM & IRELAND TRADE Lisa Thomas lisa@visitflanders.co.uk PRESS Anita Rampall anita@visitflanders.co.uk GREAT WAR Karen Roebuck Karen.roebuck@visitflanders.co.uk USA & CANADA TRADE Marco Frank marco@visitflanders.us PRESS Marcos Stupenengo marcos@visitflanders.us AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND TRADE Sonia Holt sonia.holt@walshegroup.com PRESS Anna Mansfield anna@pepr.com.au

FLANDERSFIELDS1418.COM Responsible publisher: Peter De Wilde, VisitFlanders, Grasmarkt 61, 1000 Brussels, Belgium - LEGAL DEPOSIT: D/2014/5635/56/4