Ypres 05/03/2025

 We left Brugge and drove to Ypres.  This is an ancient town and has been the center of conflict almost since its inception.  It is known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC.  It was first mentioned by name in 1066.  In 1200 AD the population was 40,000.  It was a prosperous city and the primary source of their wealth was the linen trade.  It was mentioned in the Canterbury Tales about their trade with England.  Textiles from here could be found in Novogorod, Russia in the early 12th century.  The Cloth Hall was constructed in the 13th century.  It was the largest commercial building erected in the Middle Ages.  During this time, cats, a symbol of the devil and witchcraft were thrown from the Cloth Hall roof top.  This was in an effort to get rid of evil demons.  Cats are no longer thrown from the roof, but there is a Cat Parade every year to commerate this act.

As mentioned, wars and strife have been prevalent through the centuries in Ypres.  The city had the misfortune to be standing in the way of the German army in WWI.  From 1914 to 1918 Ypres was the center of battles between Germany and the French and British armies. The city, including the Cloth Hall, was almost totally destroyed by incessant shelling over the course of the war.  The deaths the opposing armies generated in this conflict is almost indescribable.  There were so many deaths, the soldiers were buried on the battlefield when they perished.  The British Commonwealth paid a heavy price in their sacrifice.  At the war's end there were over 100 British cemeteries located here. There was also 1 German, 2 French , and 1 Belgian cemetery established in the Ypres Salient.  Every night there is a commerative ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres to remember and honor the British soldiers that sacrificed their lives. This ceremony started in 1927. The only time there has not been a ceremony was during the German occupation from 1941-1945. The day that the Germans left, there was a ceremony that night.

There was a large farmers market underway when we got to Ypres.  We walked through the market and stopped for lunch.  After lunch we drove a short distance to the town of Wervik, and checked into our rental home.  After we settled in, we drove to the Tyne Cot Commonwealth cemetery.  This is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war.  This cemetery was the battlefield.  Several German bunkers still stand among the graves.  There are 12,000 Commonwealth soldiers buried here, along with1 from France and 4 from Germany.

We then attended the Menin Gate ceremony.  There was a tremendous crowd tonight.  They do this every night.  It reminds the attendees of the sacrifice that was made on their behalf.  It means so much more to see it in person.  I would urge anyone who finds his way to Belgium, make it a point to visit Ypres.

Tomorrow we will visit the Essex Farm, the Flanders Field Museum and the "Trench of Death".

Menin Gate











Cloth Hall today

Cloth Hall 1918

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brugge 04/30/2025

Image
 We have stayed busy exploring Brugge.  We took a two hour walking tour, visited the Lace Museum, and visited two churches.  We visited both, The  Basilica of the Holy Blood and Church of Our Lady. The Basilica of the Holy Blood is a Roman Catholic Basilica, built between 1134 and 1157, as the chapel of Count of Flanders.  The church houses a relic of the Holy Blood collected by Joseph of Arimathea (a Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion.) The blood was brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alcace, Count of Flanders, after the 2nd Crusade in the 12th century.  The relic of the Holy Blood was given to Thierry by Baldwin III of Jerusalem for his great service. The Basilica is best known as the repository of a venerated vial said to contain a cloth with the blood of Jesus Christ.  Ever since, the vial has played a big part in the religious life of the city. Brugge has an annual Procession of the Holy ...
Read more

Oostende 05/01/2025

Image
 When we were making our plans for this trip, we decided to base in Brugge for the second week.  Among those plans we would train out from to Brugge to other villages in the area.  Our first train excursion was to Oostende.  We wanted to visit a quaint village on the North Sea.  Oostende was anything, but that. It was located on the North Sea, but it was not a cute village.  It is a large seaport town.  It has a population of 73,000.  It is a thriving community and has shown a population increase for the last 5 years.  It has a large beach on the North Sea shore.  Not to be confused with our beaches in Alabama, but well attended by beach goers.  Trains pass through Brugge every 15 minutes on the way to Oostende, and it is standing room only for the passengers.  When the passengers disembark they head straight for the beach.   There is a lot of modern and contemporary structures in Oostende. It was bombed heavily by th...
Read more

Brugge 04/29/2025

Image
 The weather is gorgeous, and the temperature is 75.  You could not ask for a nicer day.  If you travel to Europe, it does not take long to realize every city or village is very old.  Most of them trace their heritage bad to the pre-historic era.  Others see their first recorded history starting about the year 1000.  Brugge was a dominent economic force in the Middle Ages.  It was located at the crossing point for European trade and the Mediterranean trades.  This was considered the "Golden Age" for Brugge. Brugge was a port city and in the 15th century, the pathway to the ocean started to silt up, and Brugge went into economic decline.  In the 1600's Brugge faded in importance and for almost 300 years Brugge went into hibernation.  This city started a reawakening in the early 1900's.  This Midevial city seem to have been a time warp.  Tourism increased and today the city is overrun by tourists.  It is a beautiful city and...
Read more