The Great War in the Flanders Fields Country
Yzer Tower, Gate of Peace and Yzer Crypt
Since 1924, an annual pilgrimage of remembrance to this shrine at Kaaskerke (near Diksmuide) has been organised. These three monuments commemorate the heroic struggle of the Flemish people to achieve their national identity, but also reflect the desire of all nations for peace. The first Yzer Tower was built in the 1930′s, as a memorial to the Flemish soldiers who had died at the front, which ran along the line of the River Yzer between 1914 and 1918. During the 2nd World War, the site was the scenery of German-Flemish ceremonies. This original tower was destroyed by an explosion in 1946 and it was not until 1965 that a new structure arose, phoenix-like, from its ashes. In recent years, the 22 floors of the new tower have been devoted to a museum on the themes of ‘War, Peace and the Emancipation of Flanders’. The real atmosphere of the Great War still lingers within the memorial compound. An undergroun passageway and a reconstructed dug-out give some small idea of what conditions must have been like. In addition, each year a number of thematic exhibitions are organised. The view from the top of the 84 metre tower offers a magnificent panorama over the old front-line and over the Westhoek as a whole.
O.-L.-Vrouwehoekje (Our Lady’s Corner) Stuivekenskerke
“Our Lady’s ” Corner (O.-L.-Vrouwehoekje) in Stuivekenskerke is located between Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide. The church tower was an important Belgian outpost during the war, and its preserved ruins contain an orientation table which highlights key places of interest on the Yzer front. The adjacent chapel of remembrance is ringed by memorial stones to units of the Belgian army which served near here. There is also an original demarcation stone, with the inscription:”Here the invader was brought to halt…” The nearby railway embankment still contains dugouts and other interesting relics from the war years. This embankment marked the Belgian front line for much of the period 1914-1918.
The ‘Trench of Death’
Two kilometres further along the River Yzer stands one of the most evocative reminders of the war in the Westhoek: the so-called ‘Trench of Death’. This kilometre-long network of revetments, saps and dug-outs was one of the most dangerous Belgian positions on the Western Front, situated just 50 metres from a German bunker. As a result, the trench was subjected to almost constant fire from German snipers and machine guns. The site was recently renovated and a new visitors’ centre was opened. Using maps, photographs, videos and war memorabilia, a permanent exhibition in the centre shows the relative positions of friend and foe, charts the destruction of the surrounding towns and villages and tells the story of life – and death – in the front-line.
The ‘Grieving Parents’ Vladslo
This group of statues by the famous German Expressionist artist Käthe Kollwitz is one of the most moving and memorable reminders of the terrible price of war. She created the sculpture to commemorate the death of her son at the front in 1914. It now stands at the rear of the German military cemetery in Vladslo.
The German miltary cemetery at Vladslo is the last resting place of Peter Kollwitz, a young student volunteer who was just 17 years of age when he was killed in Octobre 1914. Deeply affected by her son’s death, Käthe Kollwitz created her world-famous sculpture ‘The Grieving Parents’.
The suppressed emotion of the father and the more open grief of the mother express universal sorrow. The sculpture was many years in the making and was only displayed for the first time in 1932 at the Roggeveld military cemetery near Esen. The grave marker in front of the sculpture group, bore the following inscription: ‘Peter Kollwitz Musketier +23.10.14′. This cemetery – and the statue group – were moved to their current site at the Praetbos near Vladslo in 1957.
Käthe Kollwitz was a famous Expressionist artist from Berlin. Her work was considered to be an example of Entartete Kunst (perverted art) by the Nazis and was removed from most museums and public buildings. Her grandson Peter was killed on the Eastern Front in 1942. Surprisingly, the sculpture survived the Nazi occupation of belgium during Second World War.
Little Bunker Oudekapelle
The little bunker near the settlement the Groigne is something strange. It is definitely a Belgian bunker, while inscriptions mention the unit that should have built it in 1918. However, on the southern side there is a curious detail. The entrance is a pointy horseshoe-arch with an Arabian inscription.
Translated it means as follows: ‘There is no greater God than Allah. If you believe in Allah, you will triumph just like the victory on Tadmoor and Namar’. This text points to the temporary presence of Arabian soldiers in the French army.
Belgian military cemetery at Keiem
This cemetery is the last resting place of 628 soldiers from the 8th and 13th Line Regiments of the Belgian Army. During the Battle of the Yzer (October 1914) an attempt to capture the village of Keiem was repulsed with heavy losses. Many were killed during the confusion of the subsequent retreat to the hamlet of Tervate, on the other side of the River Yzer.