17 municipalities

Alveringem

Under the protective wing of 'mother' Alveringem, nestle 8 charming villages, each prettier than the last. The river IJzer meanders gently through the now peaceful landscape. Nowhere is the meaninglessness of man-made boundaries more evident than here in Alveringem: if you are not careful, before you know it you will be across the border in neighbouring France! Alveringem is rightly proud of Brewery De Snoek. This old brewery was already provinding 'refreshments' to thirsty troops during the First World War. The restored malting house still contains the original copper vats which - thankfully - the invading Germans were unable to 'liberate'!

Villages: Beveren, Gijverinckhove, Hoogstade, Izenberge, Leisele, Oeren, Sint-Rijksers, Stavele
Contact address: Sint Rijkersstraat 19, 8690 Alveringem - T. +32 58 28 88 81

Diksmuide

Diksmuide owes its name and fame to the medieval cloth industry and its delicious butter. The town was reduced to rubble during the First World War. It was the scene of a famous battle in 1914 – the Battle of the IJzer – when French and Belgian troops finally stopped the German advance, but at a dreadful price. The old town centre was rebuilt completely after the armistice. The famous IJzer Tower (with its museum) and the equally well-known Trench of Death (a preserved stretch of the old Belgian front line) are now the principal reminders of those terrible days. But there is more! Did you know… that a 16th century chronicle records that Archbishop Thomas Beckett (died 1170) once stayed in Diksmuide, during his period in exile from the wrath of King Henry II of England. Tradition says that in gratitude he donated a chalice and a chasuble to the parish, and he was believed to have lodged in the corner house of the beguinage, where the Kleine Dijk (Small Dyke) now meets the present-day Begijnhofstraat.  Did it really happen? Or is it just another historical myth? Whatever the truth of the matter, the corner house is still known by the name ‘Thomas of Canterbury’ and a small statue of the saint graces a niche in the façade of No.17!

Villages: Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke, Oudekapelle, Pervijze, St.-Jacobskapelle, Stuivekenskerke, Vladslo, Woumen
Contact address: Grote Markt 6, 8600 Diksmuide - T. +32 51 79 30 50

Heuvelland

Did you know that… during the 16th century the cloth trade – on which the region’s prosperity was based – went into serious decline? Poverty and unemployment increased, offering a fertile breeding ground for the new religion of Protestantism. The Catholic pope in Rome branded the ‘new-believers’ as heretics. Many people from Heuvelland fled the country to escape persecution and some eventually found their way to Sandwich and Norwich in England. Did you also know that one of the First-ever scouts was killed near Kemmel during the First World War and now lies buried in the village churchyard? His name? Second Lieutenant Musgrave Cazenove Wroughton. Wroughton was one of the 20 young boys who Baden-Powell took on the first-ever scouts camp to Brownsea Island in 1907. But Heuvelland, as the name in Dutch suggests, is most well-known for its green and hilly landscape. These hills are known locally as ‘mountains’, even though the highest of them – the Kemmelberg or Mount Kemmel – is just 156 metres above sea level. Some traditions claim that this is the hill where the ‘Grand Old Duke of York’ marched his 10,000 men up and down, as immortalised in a well-known British nursery rhyme.

Villages: De Klijte, Dranouter, Kemmel, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate, Wulvergem
Contact address: Polenlaan 1, 8950 Kemmel - T. +32 57 45 04 55

Hooglede

Hooglede and Gits did not emerge unscathed from the First World War. For both villages, the German occupation was a period of relative calm. Even so, they were still in the 'Etappengebiet' (Reserve Zone) and therefore close to the front. Many wounded soldiers were brought here for medical care. Some of them never recovered and were buried at the Soldatenfriedhof (military cemetery). During the Liberation Offensive in September 1918, both villages were badly damaged.

Villages: Gits, Sleihage, Sint-Jozef
Contact address: Marktplaats 1, 8830 Hooglede - T. +32 51 20 30 30

Houthulst

Houthulst once had a large forest of more than 4,000 hectares. Today, just 70 hectares remain. During the First World War, the Germans transformed the forest into an impregnable fortress. During the final offensive in September 1918, this bastion was stormed by the Belgian Army. By then, all that was left of the once-proud forest was a few shattered tree trunks. The Belgian military cemetery at Houthulst contains the graves of almost 2,000 soldiers who died in the liberation of the Vrijbos (as the wood is known locally). During the Second World War a launching site for German V-1 rockets was constructed in the forest, but it was never used. Amongst other reminders of the war years are the Drie Grachten (Three Canals) Post in Merkem and the Peace Windmill in Klerken (currently undergoing restoration). This mill served as a German look-out post between 1914 and 1918. On the canal at the Drie Grachten, there is an ecological visitors’ centre on board the longboat ‘Isara’.

Villages: Jonkershove, Klerken, Merkem
Contact address: Markt 17, 8650 Houthulst - T. +32 51 46 08 94

Ieper

Ieper is a city which needs no introduction in the English-speaking world. Its name will forever be associated with the sacrifice of Great Britain and her Empire during the First World War. The In Flanders Fields Museum, the Menin Gate, the Last Post, St. George's Memorial Church: the average Englishman still knows more about Ieper than the average Belgian. But did you know … that during the Middle Ages Ieper was also a famous centre of the international cloth trade? It was the third most important city in Flanders (after Ghent and Bruges) and during the 14th century had a population larger than London! Its wealth was reflected in the construction of the magnificent Gothic Cloth Hall, with its sturdy belfry. The people of Ieper were on good terms with the English crown, since England was the main source of the wool which was so vital to the city’s cloth trade. Ieper still possesses large parts of its original ramparts, built in the 17th century by Sébastien Vauban, master-fortress builder to King Louis XIV of France – the Sun King. Nowadays, Ieper is a fun city – as testified, for example, by its colourful Cats Festival. Absolutely not to be missed!

Villages: Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, Zuidschote
Contact address: Grote Markt 34, 8900 Ieper - T. +32 57 23 92 20

Koekelare

Koekelare is a forward-thinking village, but with a strong sense of tradition. The ‘Fransmans’ (Frenchies) Museum recalls the seasonal labour of yesteryear, when many local people ‘migrated’ annually to Northern France to do temporary work in the agricultural industry: harvesting beets, cutting hops, working in the oast-mills, etc. Next to the museum stands the Käthe Kollwitz Tower. This tower contains etchings and drawings by the well-known German artist. She was also responsible for the creation of the famous ‘Grieving Parents’ sculpture in the German military cemetery at Vladslo. Many of her later works testified to her deep social commitment, which made her despised in the eyes of the Nazis.

Villages: Bovekerke, Zande
Contact address: Sint-Maartensplein 15B, 8680 Koekelare

Kortemark

Kortemark is the village of windmills. Four splendid mills dominate the landscape, serving as beacons for miles around. It is also a very old village. The archaeological museum in the neighbouring hamlet of Werken details the history of the district from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages.

Villages: Handzame, Werken, Zarren
Contact address: Torhoutstraat 9, 8610 Kortemark - T. +32 51 56 61 08

Langemark-Poelkapelle

This twin village is inextricably linked with the events of the First World War. In particular, the name of Langemark recalls a dark page in the annals of German history. It was here that the so-called ‘Massacre of the Innocents’ (the decimation of the student battalions of 1914) took place and it is here that the sombre but imposing German military cemetery, with its 44,000 burials, now stands. On the other side of the village, near Cement House Cemetery, a memorial was unveiled on 27 September 2007 by the late Harry Patch, the last surviving veteran of the Great War. The memorial marks the spot where he crossed the Steenbeek stream during the Battle of Passendale in 1917. A further monument in the centre of Poelkapelle commemorates the French air-ace Georges Guynemer (53 victories), who disappeared in the skies above the village on 11 September 1917. His body was never found.

Villages: Bikschote, Langemark, Poelkapelle
Contact address: Kasteelstraat 1, 8920 Langemark - T. +32 57 49 09 41

Lo-Reninge

Lo is a small town dating from the Middle Ages, which still boasts one of its original city gates. Next to this gate stands an ancient yew tree, where – according to tradition – the Roman general Julius Caesar once tied his horse! Did you know that… the church in Lo contains the lead coffin and mortal remains of William of Lo? William is better known in history - at least, in British history – as William of Ypres, the self-styled count of Flanders. William tried to seize power in Flanders during a failed coup in 1127. As a result, he was banished to England, where he took enthusiastic part in the civil wars of 1139-1154 between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. William was one of Stephen’s chief lieutenants and commanded a large contingent of Flemish soldiers in his service. Finally elevated to the nobility by the grateful king, in later life Count William was responsible for the founding of the Cistercian abbey at Boxley.

Villages: Lo, Reninge, Noorschoote, Pollinkhove
Contact address: Markt 17a, 8647 Lo-Reninge - T. +32 58 28 91 66

Mesen

Mesen – better known in English as Messines – is the smallest town in Belgium and stands on the language frontier between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia. Mesen has a special place in the history of the 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 during the famous Battle of the Mines. The Peace Tower which now stands near this spot is therefore a symbol of reconciliation for the past, the present and the future. Mesen is also twinned with the New Zealand town of Featherstone. Troops of the New Zealand Division – men who had literally come from the other side of the world – also fought here in 1917.

Contact address: Markt 22, 8957 Mesen - T. +32 57 22 17 14

Poperinge

Poperinge is the main centre of hop cultivation in Belgium. To celebrate this fact, the town holds a colourful triennial Hop Parade.  During the First World War the town was immediately behind the front lines: a place of camps and hospitals, where the soldiers came to rest or heal their wounds. Talbot House – the famous wartime soldiers’ club – can still be visited. More than 9,500 Commonwealth servicemen found their last resting place in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, just outside the town. But did you know that… Sir Thopas, mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s  famous ‘Canterbury Tales’ (1388), was actually born in Poperinge. And did you know that… a Kentish farmer by the name of Reynolde Scott once spied on the hops fields and oast-houses around Poperinge, in order to improve techniques back in England. In 1574 he even published a manual called ‘A Perfect Hoppe Garden’, based on expertise he had acquired in Flanders. You almost certainly didn’t know that… Lady Di’s great-grandmother was born in Reningelst, a village just outside Poperinge.

Villages: Abele, Krombeke, Proven, Reningelst, Roesbrugge-Haringe, Watou
Contact address: Grote Markt 1, 8970 Poperinge - T. +32 57 34 66 76

Staden

Did you know that… the British pilot Peter James Nankivell is buried in the civil cemetery in Staden? Born in 1920, Flight-Lieutenant Nankivell was a fighter pilot in the British Royal Air Force. On Sunday, 7 February 1943 he took off from RAF Manston in a Hawker Typhoon of 609 Squadron for a mission over occupied Europe. At 14.15 hours he was intercepted above the Kortemark-Ieper railway by a German Fokker Wulf 190. After a short dog-fight, Nankivell was shot down, his plane crashing into the meadow of the Muyssen-Courtens farmstead.

Villages: Oostnieuwkerke, Westrozebeke
Contact address: Marktplaats 2, 8840 Staden - T. +32 51 70 82 00

Veurne

Veurne is an old and elegant town, with a unique market square. The famous British war correspondent, Philip Gibbs, noted in his book 'The Soul of the War' (1915): ‘The town of Furnes, in Belgium, into which I came when dusk crept into its streets and squares, was the headquarters of King Albert and his staff and its people could hear all day long the roll of guns a few kilometres away, where the remnant of their army held the line of the Yser canal and the trenches which barred the roads to Dixmude, Pervyse and other little towns and villages on the last free patch of Belgian soil. I drove into the Grande Place and saw the beauty of this old Flemish square, typical of a hundred others no less quaint and with no less dignity, which had been smashed to pieces by German guns. Three great buildings dominated its architecture - the Town Hall, with a fine stately façade and two ancient churches with massive brick towers, over-shadowing the narrow old houses and timber-front shops with stepped gables and wrought-iron signs…’. In contrast to many other front towns, Veurne was little damaged during the war and still possesses a magnificent architectural heritage.  It is also well-known for its Penitents’ Procession, which takes place on the last Sunday in July.

Villages: Avekapelle, Booitshoeke, Bulskamp, De Moeren, Eggewaartskapelle, Houtem, Steenkerke, Vinkem, Wulveringem, Zoutenaaie
Contact address: Grote Markt 29, 8630 Veurne - T. +32 58 33 55 31

Vleteren

Vleteren is a beer village par excellence. Westvleteren is home to the famous Abbey of St. Sixtus, which brews a series of ‘trappist’ ales (6°, 8° and 12°!) which in their time have been voted as the best beer in the world. The ‘Struise Brouwers’ in neighbouring Oostvleteren have also been honoured as being amongst the world’s best brewers. Their real imperial stouts, such as ‘Black Albert’, are highly prized by beer aficionados. But did you know… that during the retreat to Dunkirk in May 1940, the British General (later Field Marshall) Sir Bernard Montgomery entrusted his travelling trunk to the monks at the abbey of St. Sixtus. The monks even buried the trunk when a German officer later became suspicious.  After the liberation of Belgium in 1944, ‘Monty’ had his trunk sent for.

Villages: Oostvleteren, Westvleteren, Woesten
Contact address: Veurnestraat 4, 8640 Vleteren - T. +32 57 40 09 01

Wervik

Wervik is one of the oldest towns in Belgium and was know to the Romans, who called it Viroviacum. It was a staging post on the great Roman road from Bavay to Cassel. During the First World War, the town was occupied by the German Army for four years. Wervik was for the Germans what Poperinge was for the British: a place to rest, close behind the lines. However, the town’s greatest claim to fame lies in a very different direction: tobacco! Wervik tobacco was once famed for its strength, although there are only a very few tobacco fields now remaining. Happily, the story of the industry’s past has been preserved in the Tobacco Museum, which also charts the history of smoking.

Villages: Geluwe
Contact address: Koestraat 63, 8940 Wervik - T. 056 95 24 25

Zonnebeke

The name Zonnebeke probably rings very few bells in British ears, but almost everyone has heard of its neighbouring village: Passendale or Passchendaele (old spelling). The chateau of Zonnebeke now houses the impressive Passchendaele 1917 Memorial Museum. Not far away, cresting the ridge which separates the two villages, stands Tyne Cot Cemetery – the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world. It was here in 1917 that the British army fought for 4 long months in a desperate bid to break the German line. They advanced just 8 kilometres at a cost of almost 400,000 killed, wounded and missing. Little wonder that the village was known to the troops as ‘Passion Dale’ – the Valley of Suffering. Like most villages in the region, Passendale was rebuilt after the armistice and is now well- known for its cheese. A Cheese Museum highlights the development of this new industry and each year the village holds its own Cheese Festival. The neighbouring village of Beselare is more concerned with witchcraft than with cheese, and every two years organises a ‘spine-chilling’ Witches Pageant.

Villages: Beselare, Geluveld, Passendale
Contact address: Berten Pilstraat 5A, 8980 Zonnebeke - T. +32 51 77 04 41