Send Gift Baskets to Ieper / Ypres

WWI Battlefields

Between 1914 and 1918, the area around Ypres was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. One hundred seventy war cemeteries where the dead are buried, and relatives still visit their graves.

Visit the In Flanders Fields Museum

Ypres’ Lakenhalle (cloth hall) occupies most of the central Grote Markt square. A large hall on the first floor houses the In Flanders Fields Museum, chronicling the heavy fighting in and around Ypres during the First World War.

Come to Menin Gate for The Last Post

The Menin Gate, built by Sir Reginald Blomfield on the site of a medieval town gate, through which the British soldiers marched to the front, is just a short distance from the east end of the Grote Markt.

Admire the Architecture of the Grote Markt

1. The 70-meter-high square belfry is a distinctive architectural feature of the Grote Markt, visible in the surrounding countryside from the Lakenhalle.

Visit Sint-Maartenskathedraal

Overlooking the Cloth Hall to the north is Sint-Maartenskathedraal. The church was initially built in the 13th century, with its south entrance and tower added in the 15th century, but it was destroyed during World War I and rebuilt in 1922.

Hooge Crater Memorial Museum

Located five kilometers east of central Ypres, this private museum is housed in a chapel built in 1927. In July 1915, British troops set off a mine explosion on the front line battlefield site to destroy the Germans’ advantaged observation point.

St. George’s Memorial Church

The church is located north of the cathedral, opposite the Ypres Schouwburg theater on Vandenpeerboomplein.

Walk along the Fortifications of Rijselpoort

At the end of the Rijselstraat is the Rijselpoort (also known as Lilletor in English). This massive fortified gate dates back to the Burgundian era. Ypres’ original city gates are the only ones that have survived with their rooms intact.

Tyne Cot Cemetery

This cemetery, located northwest of Ypres in the hamlet of Nieuwe-Molden, is the largest in Flanders. A memorial to 35,000 soldiers who were missing after August 16, 1917, is located at Tyne Cot Cemetery, which Sir Reginald Blomfield laid out.

 German War Cemetery

About three kilometers from the Canadian monument, Langemark was much contested during the war and had an impressive German war cemetery (almost 45,000 graves).