Information AboutYpres |
Ypres ( French , Pronounced generally used in English 1 ) or '''Ieper''' (official name in Dutch , pronounced ) is a Belgian Municipality located in the Flemish Province of West Flanders . The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge , Brielen , Dikkebus , Elverdinge , Hollebeke , Sint-Jan , Vlamertinge , Voormezele , Zillebeke , and Zuidschote . During World War I , Ypres was the centre of intense and sustained battles between the German and the Allied forces. HISTORY Origins to World War I Ypres is an ancient town, and is known to have been raided by the trade with England, which was mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. It was the hometown of William Of Ypres , a commander of Flemish mercenaries in England who was reckoned among the more able of the military commanders fighting for King Stephen in his prolonged civil war with the Empress Matilda . In order to prosper and maintain its wealth, Ypres had to be fortified to keep out invaders. Parts of the early ramparts, dating from 1385, still survive near the Rijselpoort (Lille Gate). The famous Cloth Hall was built in the thirteenth century. During this time also, cats, then the symbol of the devil and witchcraft, were thrown off the cloth hall, possibly due to the belief that this would get rid of evil demons. Today, this act is commemorated with a triennial Cat Parade through town. Over time, the earthworks were replaced by sturdier masonry and earthen structures and a partial Moat . Ypres was further fortified in 17th and 18th centuries while under the occupation of the Hapsburgs and the French . Major works were completed at the end of the 17th century by the French military engineer Sebastien Le Prestre, Seigneur De Vauban . World War I Ypres was a key position during into the German lines on the surrounding hills. In the First Battle Of Ypres ( 31 October to 22 November 1914 ) the British captured the town from the Germans. In the Second Battle Of Ypres ( 22 April to 25 May 1915 ) the Germans used Poison Gas for the first time on the Western Front (they had used it earlier at the Battle Of Bolimow on 3 January 1915 ) and captured high ground east of the town. The first gas attack occurred against Canadian, British, and French soldiers; including both metropolitan French soldiers as well as Senegal ese and Algeria n Tirailleurs (light infantry) from French Africa. The gas used was Chlorine Gas . Mustard Gas , also called Yperite from the name of this city, was also used for the first time near Ypres in the autumn of 1917. Of the battles, the largest, best-known, and most costly in human suffering was the Third Battle Of Ypres ( 21 July to 6 November 1917 , also known as the Battle Of Passchendaele ) in which the British, Canadians and ANZAC forces recaptured the Passchendaele ridge east of the city at a terrible cost of lives. After months of fighting, this battle resulted in nearly half a million casualties to all sides, and only several miles of ground won by Allied forces. The town was all but obliterated by the artillery fire. English-speaking soldiers in that war often referred to Ypres by the (perhaps humorous) mispronunciation "Wipers". British soldiers even self-published a wartime newspaper called the " Wipers Times ". Ypres today After the war the town was rebuilt, with the main square, including the Cloth Hall and town hall, being rebuilt as close to the original designs as possible. (The rest of the rebuilt town is more modern in appearance.) The Cloth Hall today is home to In Flanders Fields Museum , dedicated to Ypres's role in the First World War. Ypres these days has the title of "city of peace" and maintains a close friendship with another town on which war had a profound impact: was Employed , while Hiroshima suffered the debut of Nuclear Warfare . War graves, both of the Allied side and the Central Powers, cover the landscape around Ypres. The largest are Langemark German War Cemetery and Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Cemetery . The countryside around Ypres ( Flanders Fields ) is featured in the famous poem by John McCrae , '' In Flanders Fields ''. Saint George's Memorial Church commemorates the British and Commonwealth soldiers, who died in the three battles fought for Ypres during World War I. SIGHTS Town centre The imposing Cloth Hall was built in the 13th Century and was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages. The structure we see today is the exact copy of the original medieval building, rebuilt after the war. The Belfry that surmounts the hall houses a 49-bell Carillon . The whole complex was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. The Gothic -style Saint Martin’s Cathedral, originally built in 1221 , was also completely reconstructed after the war. It houses the tombs of Jansenius , bishop of Ypres and father of the religious movement known as Jansenism , and of Robert Of Bethune , nicknamed "The Lion of Flanders", who was Count Of Nevers (1273-1322) and Count Of Flanders (1305–1322). Menin Gate ]] The '' is sounded beneath the Gate by the local fire brigade. This tribute is given in honour of the memory of British Empire soldiers who fought and died there. ]] The ceremony was prohibited by occupying German forces during the Second World War, but it was resumed on the very evening of liberation — 6 September , 1944 — notwithstanding the heavy fighting that still went on in other parts of the town. The lions that marked the original gate were given to Australia by the people of Belgium and can be found at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. :::"Who will remember, passing through this Gate, :::The unheroic Dead who fed the guns?" ::::-- Siegfried Sassoon , ''On Passing the Menin Gate'' EVENTS
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NOTES FOOTNOTE 1 The Dutch Language was restricted by the French -speaking Belgian ruling class at the time of the First World War so that as a result the French name was used by British soldiers fighting there—they however, pronounced it "Wipers", probably as a result of poor education in pronunciation of the French language rather than any deliberate humour. 2 The gate is called "Menin Gate" because it is situated on the road to another Flemish city, Menin in French or a (depricated) variant name in English , Menen in Dutch or English . |
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