The In Flanders Fields Museum is a museum in

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

(Ieper),

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, dedicated to the study of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It occupies the second floor of the

Cloth Hall A cloth hall or linen hall (german: Gewandhaus; pl, Sukiennice; french: Halle aux draps; nl, Lakenhal) is a historic building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from medieval times into the 18 ...

(Lakenhalle) on the market square in the city centre. The building was largely destroyed by artillery during the war, but was afterwards reconstructed. In 1998 the original Ypres Salient Memorial Museum was refurbished and renamed In Flanders Fields Museum after the famous poem by Canadian

John McCrae Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing the ...

. Following a period of closure, the museum reopened on 11 June 2012. The curator,

Piet Chielens Piet Chielens (born 1956) a Belgian writer, translator and curator. He is coordinator of the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium. He is also artistic director of ''Vredesconcerten Passendale'' ('' Passchendaele Peace Concerts''). ...

, is a World War I historian. The museum does not set out to glorify war, but to suggest its futility, particularly as seen in the West Flanders front region in World War I.

Programming

A range of activities are available, including walking itineraries and workshops. On entry to the museum each visitor receives a "Poppy Bracelet" containing a microchip, which activates the chosen language for the visitor. It also activates the personal story of four individuals as the visitor makes his or her way around the exhibitions. The exhibit tells the story of the invasion of Belgium, the first months of the mobilisation, the four years trench war in the Westhoek (from the beach of Nieuwpoort to the Leie in Armentieres), the end of the war, and the permanent remembrance ever since. The Bell Tower (Belfry) at the Cloth Hall, offers a view over the city, Saint George's Memorial Church, St Martin's Cathedral, the market place, the surrounding battlefields, and the

Menin Gate The Menin Gate ( nl, Menenpoort), officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves ...

. The museum presents a general introduction to World War I in Flanders with reference to other Allied museums and sites, such as

Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62 The Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62, east of Ypres, Belgium is a private museum located in the neighbourhood of the Canadian Hill 62 Memorial and the Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. The museum was owned by Jacques Schier, the grandson of the farmer wh ...

Museum Godshuis Belle The Museum Godshuis Belle is a small museum in Ypres, Belgium. Located in the chapel of an old almshouse, it houses the art collection of the Ypres Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCMW in Dutch). History During the broadcloth crisis of 1270– ...

, and Canadian

Hill 62 Memorial The Canadian Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood) Memorial is a war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in defending the southern stretches of the Ypres Salient between April and August 1916 including actions in battle at the St Elo ...

; whereas the Lange Max Museum focuses on the occupied German side. The museum is intended to encourage the visitor to view the actual sites for themselves. The personal stories of how the First World War affected the lives of individuals of many nationalities are told through the many objects on display, interactive installations and lifelike characters within the larger picture of the Great War. The displays include medical equipment, gas masks, and a mule and munitions wagon exhibit. Themes of the consequences of war, how we look into our past, and how and why we remember are explored.

Museum shop

The museum shop sells First World War related books and guides, maps, postcards, CDs and gift items.

Research

The museum includes a new World War I research centre. The Names List Project is a project to compile a list of all those who died in the Westhoek region as a result of the First World War.

References

* Tobias Arand: ''Zwischen Emotion und Distanz – Zwei museale Wege der Annäherung an den Ersten Welt-krieg.'' ''Das 'In Flanders Fields-Museum' Ypern/Belgien und das 'Historial de la Grande Guerre' Péronne/Frankreich''. In: Geschichte, Politik und ihre Didaktik Heft 31, 2003, Heft 1/2, S. 74- 83. * Holt, Major & Mrs; ''Holt's Battlefield Guide to Ypres Salient'' (England: Pen & Sword Books 1997)

External links

* {{Authority control World War I museums in Belgium Buildings and structures in Ypres Museums in West Flanders Buildings and structures completed in 1304 Buildings and structures completed in 1967 Rebuilt buildings and structures