The best traffic-free bike rides around Staden

So that every visitor becomes aware of the horror and hell of war in the past. That humanity learns nothing by slaughtering each other for nothing. But we are led by idiots and power-hungry people!!

The harbor in Ypres, known locally as "De Kaaie," is actually the Ieperlee, which runs beneath the city of Ypres and becomes visible again there. At the Drie Grachten (Three Canals), the Ieperlee is joined by the Martjevaart canal, which originates in Merkem. Drie Grachten is a hamlet in the west of Merkem where the three canals converge: the Martjevaart canal, the Ypres-IJzer canal (also known as the Ieperlee Canal), and the Ieperlee itself. Drie Grachten is also known for the battles during World War I, in which the French, including the Zouaves, fought against the Germans. After a failed attack on the German outpost at Luigem, the Germans captured a number of Zouaves. They launched a counterattack but hid behind the captured Zouaves to prevent the French Zouaves from firing on them, thinking they were their own men returning. At one point, one of the captured Zouaves reportedly shouted: "Tirez donc au nom de Dieu, ce sont les Boches!" (For God's sake, these are the Boches!). Immediately after the warning, a French salvo erupted, mowing down both the Germans and the captured Zouaves. The Zouaves of Northern France (Union des Zouaves du Nord) continued to commemorate this after the war. Luigem is a hamlet 1 kilometer east of Drie Grachten and 1 kilometer west of the center of Noordschote. The Zouaves (French: zouaves) were a light infantry unit of the French Army, associated with French North Africa.

Tyne Cot Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world, located near Passchendaele. It was established in October 1917 and contains over 11,000 graves of soldiers who died during the First World War. The site was strategically important during the Battle of Passchendaele and was used as an advanced dressing station after its capture by the 3rd Australian Division on 4 October 1917. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and includes an impressive Cross of Sacrifice, built on a former German bunker. The cemetery was significantly expanded after the Armistice to include graves from nearby battlefields and smaller cemeteries.

The Welsh National Memorial Park in Langemark, near Ypres, Belgium, commemorates the men and women of Wales who fought in the First World War. The memorial was unveiled on 16 August 2014 and is located on Pilkem Ridge, a key location during the Third Battle of Ypres. The park features a cromlech, a traditional Celtic structure, topped by a bronze dragon. The park honours the efforts of the 38th (Welsh) Division, which played a crucial role in the battle on 31 July 1917. Poet Ellis Humphrey Evans, known as Hedd Wyn, was killed here on the same day.

An interesting anecdote concerns the explosion of one of the mines on 17 July 1955 by lightning. This mine had not been detonated during the war and was still underground. The explosion created a new crater and reminded the local population of the lasting impact of the war.

The Spanbroekmolen crater, also known as the Pool of Peace, is an impressive mine crater in Wijtschate. This crater was formed on June 7, 1917, during the Second Battle of Messines, when British troops detonated 19 underground mines. The explosion created a crater 27 meters deep and 129 meters in diameter. After nearly 100 years of erosion, the crater is now a peaceful pool 12 meters deep and 76 meters in diameter.

An interesting anecdote concerns the battles around the pond during the war. Soldiers used the pond as a natural barrier and shelter. There are stories of soldiers wading through the water at night to reach enemy lines, which gave the pond strategic significance.

A particularly poignant anecdote about the Brothers In Arms Memorial involves Australian brothers John and James Hunter. During the Battle of Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917, John was killed in the arms of his brother James. John was buried in a temporary cemetery, but his body was not recovered until 2006 by an archaeological team led by Johan Vandewalle . James returned to Australia after the war, always hoping that he would one day be reunited with his brother. Thanks to DNA testing, John's body was identified and in 2007 he was reburied with military honours at the Buttes New British Cemetery, just a few hundred metres from the Brothers In Arms Memorial . The memorial, which shows James embracing his dying brother John, symbolises the deep emotional impact of war on families .