Things to Do in Ypres

The In Flanders Field Museum is a World War I museum is located in a famous cloth hall in the center of Ypres, Belgium. The major theme of the museum is the consequences of war. Mirrors are used to inspire visitors to examine how we look at the past, how and why we remember, and how we view the nations involved in World War I. The museum encourages visitors to reflect on the major historical events as well as the personal stories of individuals. Visitors will learn about how the war affected the lives of thousands of people of different nationalities who were involved in the war. The museum also has a heavy focus on how the war affected West Flanders and the city of Ypres. 

Visitors receive a poppy bracelet for a one euro deposit when they enter the museum. The bracelet has a microchip in it which tells the stories of four individuals, in the language you choose, as you walk through the exhibits in the museum. You can also climb 231 steps to the top of the bell tower for views of the city and the Ypres Salient battlefields. 

Yser Tower is a memorial honoring the Flemish soldiers who died during World War I. It is the tallest peace monument in Europe and houses a museum and a chapel. At the start of the war, King Albert of Belgium urged the Flemish and Walloon populations to come together to fight under a united Belgian flag. Unfortunately the French-speaking Walloon officers expressed themselves in French, while most of the Flemish soldiers could not speak French, only Dutch. The soldiers' inability to understand orders led to many deaths, and by the end of the war, 70 percent of the fallen Belgian soldiers were Flemish. 

The monument that stands today was built in 1965 and is 275 feet tall. The inscription “Never again war” is written on the tower in Dutch, French, English, and German. As a peace monument, Yser Tower commemorates the Flemish soldiers killed during World War I, but it has also become a beacon of the Flemish nationalist movement. The museum's permanent exhibit retraces the history of both World Wars and the time in between them, while two floors are dedicated to the history of Flanders. The film “Violence Never Brings Peace” plays continuously in the auditorium. The museum also has various temporary exhibits.

The Vladslo German War Cemetery is a burial ground located near the village of Vladslo, Belgium, which is about 16 miles north of Ypres and 25 miles southwest of Brugge. By the end of World War I, German soldiers were buried all over Belgium, from single or group sites in the woods to larger cemeteries with several thousand soldiers. In the years after the war, German officials worked with Belgian officials to gather and relocated many of the graves scattered throughout the country to give the soldiers a proper burial. This resumed after World War II, and in 1954 an agreement was made to have most of the fallen German soldiers from World War I moved to three different collecting cemeteries. 

The cemetery in Vladslo is essentially a mass grave containing more than 25,000 graves from 61 locations. Each simple tombstone has the names, ranks, and dates of death for 20 deceased German soldiers. One of the soldiers buried here was Peter Kollwitz, the 18-year-old son of famous artist Käthe Kollwitz. Out of sorrow for her son, Kollwitz created two statues called “The Mourning Parents” which are located at the back of the cemetery.

The Trench of Death was one of the most dangerous locations of Belgian troops on the Western Front during World War I. It is a half-mile long network of revetments, saps and dug-outs near Diksmuide in Flanders, and it was only 55 yards from a German bunker. The Belgian Army was here to prevent the German troops from advancing toward France. As a result, soldiers in this trench were under almost constant attack from the opposing forces. Conditions were harsh and life for the Belgian soldiers was rigorous. Soldiers had to man the trenches for three days straight before getting three days of rest in a cantonment at the back of the combat zone. The Trench of Death was the heart of Belgian resistance until the successful Battle of Flanders which began on September 28, 1918. 

Visiting the Trench of Death will give perspective on the size and conditions of the trenches. The visitor center uses maps, photographs, videos and war memorabilia to tell the story of life and death on the front lines. The exhibits explain how the Belgians kept fighting for four years and what kinds of weapons and equipment they used.