Ypres Ieper (Dutch)
Flag Coat of arms
Ypres Location in Belgium
Coordinates: 50°51′N 02°53′E / 50.85°N 2.883°E / 50.85; 2.883
Country	Belgium
Region	Flemish Region
Community	Flemish Community
Province	West Flanders
Arrondissement	Ypres
Government
• Mayor	Luc Dehaene (CD&V)
• Governing party/ies	CD&V
Area
• Total	130.61 km2 (50.43 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2011)[1]
• Total	35,102
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Demographics
• Foreigners	1.89% (1 July 2005)
Postal codes	8900, 8902, 8904, 8906, 8908
Area codes	057
Website	www.ieper.be
Map of Ypres

Ypres (/ˈiːprə/; French pronunciation: [ipʁ]; Dutch: Ieper, pronounced [ˈipər]) 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. Together, they count some 34,900 inhabitants.

During World War I, Ypres was the centre of intense and sustained battles between the German and the Allied forces. During the war, due to it being hard to pronounce in English, British troops nicknamed the city "Wipers".

History[link]

Origins to World War I[link]

Ypres on the Ferraris map (around 1775)

Ypres is an ancient town, known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC.^[2]

During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous Flemish city with a population of 40,000,^[3] renowned for its linen trade with England, which was mentioned in the Canterbury Tales.

As the third largest city in the County of Flanders (after Ghent and Bruges) Ypres played an important role in the history of the textile industry. Textiles from Ypres could be found on the markets of Novgorod in Russia in the early 12th century. In 1241 a major fire ruined much of the old city. The powerful city was involved in important treaties and battles, including the Battle of the Golden Spurs, the Battle at Pevelenberg, The Peace of Melun and the Battle of Cassel.

The famous Cloth Hall was built in the thirteenth century. Also during this time cats, then the symbol of the devil and witchcraft, were thrown off 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.

After the destruction of Thérouanne, Ypres became the seat of the new Diocese of Ypres in 1561, and Saint Martin's Church was elevated to cathedral status.

During the Norwich Crusade, led by the English bishop Henry le Despenser, Ypres was besieged from May to August 1383, until French relief forces arrived. On 25 March 1678 Ypres was conquered by the forces of Louis XIV of France. It remained French under the treaty of Nijmwegen and Vauban constructed his typical fortifications, that can still be seen today. In 1697, after the Treaty of Ryswick, Ypres was returned to the Spanish Crown.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, the Duke of Marlborough in 1709 intended to capture Ypres, at the time a major French fortress, but changed his mind due to the long time and effort it had taken him to capture Tournai and apprehension of disease spreading in his army in the poorly drained land around Ypres (see Battle of Malplaquet). In 1713 it was handed over to the Habsburgs, and became part of the Austrian Netherlands.

In 1782 the Austrian emperor Joseph II ordered parts of the walls torn down, making it easy for the French to take over the city during the first coalition war in 1794.

Ypres had long been fortified to keep out invaders. Parts of the early ramparts, dating from 1385, still survive near the Rijselpoort (Lille Gate). Over time, the earthworks were replaced by sturdier masonry and earth structures and a partial moat. Ypres was further fortified in 17th and 18th centuries while under the occupation of the Habsburgs 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[link]

Ypres's shell-blasted Cloth Hall burns

Ypres occupied a strategic position during World War I because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the north (the Schlieffen Plan). The neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by Britain; Germany's invasion of Belgium brought the British Empire into the war. The German army surrounded the city on three sides, bombarding it throughout much of the war. To counterattack, British, French, and allied forces made costly advances from the Ypres Salient into the German lines on the surrounding hills.

In the First Battle of Ypres (12 October to 11 November 1914), the Allies captured the town from the Germans. The Germans had used tear gas at the Battle of Bolimov on 3 January 1915. Their use of poison gas for the first time the on 22 April 1915 marked the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres, which continued until 25 May 1915. They 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 Senegalese and Algerian tirailleurs (light infantry) from French Africa. The gas used was chlorine. 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.

Ruins of Ypres – 1919

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, ANZAC, and French 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 a few miles of ground won by Allied forces. During the course of the war the town was all but obliterated by the artillery fire.

English-speaking soldiers in that war often referred to Ieper/Ypres by the deliberate mispronunciation Wipers. British soldiers even published a wartime newspaper called the Wipers Times. The same style of deliberate mispronunciation was applied to other Flemish place names in the Ypres area for the benefit of British troops, such as Whyteshaete becoming White Sheet and Ploegsteert becoming Plug Street.

Ypres was one of the sites that hosted an unofficial Christmas Truce in 1914 between German and British soldiers.

Ypres today[link]

After the war the town was rebuilt using money paid by Germany in reparations, 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.

Today, Ypres is a small city in the very western part of Belgium, the so-called Westhoek. 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: Hiroshima. Both towns witnessed warfare at its worst: Ypres was one of the first places where chemical warfare was employed, while Hiroshima suffered the debut of nuclear warfare. The city governments of Ypres and Hiroshima advocate that cities should never be targets again and campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The City of Ypres hosts the international campaign secretariat of Mayors for Peace, an international Mayoral organization mobilizing cities and citizens worldwide to abolish and eliminate nuclear weapons by the year 2020. Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign

Sights[link]

Town centre[link]

Cloth Hall at night

The fountain in the Grote Markt, Ypres, opposite the Cloth Hall

The imposing Cloth Hall was built in the 13th century and was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages. The structure which stands 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, but now with a higher spire. 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[link]

The Menin Gate

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing^[4] in Ypres commemorates those soldiers of the British Commonwealth – with the exception of Newfoundland – who fell in the Ypres Salient during the First World War before 16 August 1917, who have no known grave. Those who died from that date – and all from New Zealand and Newfoundland – are commemorated elsewhere.^[5][6] The memorial's location is especially poignant as it lies on the eastward route from the town which allied soldiers would have taken towards the fighting – many never to return. Every evening since 1928 (except for a period during the Second World War when Ypres was occupied by Germany), at precisely eight o'clock, traffic around the imposing arches of the Menin Gate Memorial has been stopped while the Last Post 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 Menin Gate in Ypres records only the soldiers for whom there is no known grave. As graves are identified, the names of those buried in them are removed from the Menin Gate^{[citation needed]}.

The ceremony at the Menin Gate

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

Gravestones in the National Necropolis

War graves, both of the Allied side and the Central Powers, cover the landscape around Ypres. The largest number of dead are at Langemark German war cemetery and Tyne Cot Commonwealth war cemetery. The countryside around Ypres is featured in the famous poem by John McCrae, In Flanders Fields.

Saint George's Memorial Church

Saint George's Memorial Church commemorates the British and Commonwealth soldiers, who died in the five battles fought for Ypres during World War I.

Events[link]

Kattenstoet

• The Cat Parade ("Kattenstoet") takes place every three years on the second Sunday of May. It involves the throwing of toy cats from the belfry and a colourful parade of cats and witches. The latest Cat Parade took place on 13 May 2012.
• Ypres is also the home of the Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally since its creation in 1965. It is organized by the Auto Club Targa Florio. Some of the drivers to have taken part are among the best-known names in rallying, such as Juha Kankkunen, Bruno Thiry, Henri Toivonen, Colin McRae, Jimmy McRae, Marc Duez, François Duval, and Freddy Loix among others.
• Ypres holds an annual canoe polo tournament in which teams come from all over Europe to play

Famous inhabitants[link]

• 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 of England in his 19 year civil war with the Empress Matilda.
• Jacob Clemens non Papa (ca. 1510–1556), Renaissance composer
• Cornelius Jansen (1585–1638), bishop of Ypres and father of the Jansenism movement
• Jules Malou (1810–1886), politician, Prime Minister of Belgium from 1871 to 1878 and in 1884
• Alphonse Vandenpeereboom (1812–1884), politician, minister
• Albert Nyssens (1855–1901) Minister of Industry and Labour, Lawyer, University Professor,
• Julien Nyssens (1859–1910) Engineer, Builder of Zeebrugge harbour.
• Albert Devèze (1881–1959), politician, minister
• Paul Sobry (1895–1954), University professor
• Simona Noorenbergh (b. 1907 – Fane 1990), nun, social worker, co-founder of Fane, Papua New Guinea
• Walter Fiers (b.Ypres, 1931), molecular biologist
• Marc Vervenne (1949– ), emeritus dean Leuven university
• Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie, founders of the speech technology company Lernout & Hauspie
• Henk Lauwers (b. 1956), classical baritone singer
• Catherine Verfaillie (b. Ypres, 1957), MD and stem cell pioneer
• Nicholas Lens (b. 1957), author and composer
• Edouard Vermeulen (b. 1957), fashion designer
• Renaat Landuyt (b. 1958), politician, Belgian minister
• Erik Vermeulen (b. 1959), jazz pianist
• Yves Leterme (b. 1960), Politician, prime minister of Belgium

Twin cities[link]

•  Japan: Hiroshima
•  United Kingdom: Sittingbourne, Kent (since 1964)
•  Germany: Siegen, Westfalen (since 1967)
•  France: Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais (since 1969)
• Australia: Kelmscott, Western Australia (since 1988)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ypres

• Association for World War Archaeology; information about WW1 excavations near Ypres
• In Flanders Fields Museum
• Last Post Association
• Pilgrimage to Ypresand Sanctuary Wood
• The Second Battle of Ypres in Oral Histories of the First World War: Veterans 1914–1918 at Library and Archives Canada
• Mayors For Peace International Secretariat Ypres
• Webpage about the fortifications
• Coat of arms of Ieper (Ypres)
• Ieper Official website – Information available in Dutch and limited information available in English

v t e Municipalities in the Province of West Flanders, Flanders, Belgium Bruges Beernem Blankenberge Bruges/Brugge Damme Jabbeke Knokke-Heist Oostkamp Torhout Zedelgem Zuienkerke Diksmuide Diksmuide Houthulst Koekelare Kortemark Lo-Reninge Kortrijk Anzegem Avelgem Deerlijk Harelbeke Kortrijk Kuurne Lendelede Menen Spiere-Helkijn Waregem Wevelgem Zwevegem Ostend Bredene De Haan Gistel Ichtegem Middelkerke Oostende/Ostend Oudenburg Roeselare Hooglede Ingelmunster Izegem Ledegem Lichtervelde Moorslede Roeselare Staden Tielt Ardooie Dentergem Meulebeke Oostrozebeke Pittem Ruiselede Tielt Wielsbeke Wingene Veurne Alveringem De Panne Koksijde Nieuwpoort Veurne Ypres Heuvelland Ieper/Ypres Langemark-Poelkapelle Mesen Poperinge Vleteren Wervik Zonnebeke

Woods of Ypres were a blackened doom metal band from Ontario, Canada.

Biography[link]

Formation & History[link]

Woods of Ypres was formed in Windsor, Ontario in 2002 by David Gold, Aaron Palmer, and Brian McManus. The trio released the first Woods Of Ypres demo, Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat, the same year. In 2003, David Gold moved to Toronto to begin working on a full-length album. In 2004, the band's first full-length album, Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth, was released on David Gold's record label, Krankenhaus Records. The third Woods of Ypres album, Woods III: Deepest Roots & Darkest Blues, was released at the end of 2007. Contrasting the two albums, critic Laura Taylor wrote, "While Pursuit of the Sun verged on metalized Pink Floyd, Woods’ latest unearths more of the band’s black and dark metal inspirations".^[3] In 2008, the band was featured on the cover of Unrestrained! Magazine.^[4]

After a work stint in South Korea, David Gold moved the band to his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in 2008, where they recorded their fourth album Woods IV: The Green Album the following year. Released in November 2009, Exclaim! called it "the band's most amorphous and powerful creature so far."^[5] Earlier in 2009, Woods of Ypres also put out a compilation of 12 of the songs from their three main Krankenhaus-released albums entitled Independent Nature 2002-2007 and a vinyl-only single release of their 2004 song "Allure of the Earth", which also featured a cover of that song by Australian cellists Sebastian Simpson and Chris Doig.

Sessions towards an unreleased EP named Woods 4.5: You Were The Light were made in Sault Ste. Marie in 2010 as well, but just two tracks from those sessions have been released as part of a vinyl-only single named Home in 2011. Woods of Ypres announced their breakup in late 2010 partly due to frontman David Gold's move to Kuwait for work reasons, but it was announced that fall that the split was entirely false, and that Woods of Ypres had signed to Earache Records, who would later put out the band's last two studio albums.^[6]

Woods of Ypres' lineups have been noticeably unstable since their inception, with only David Gold participating on every release by the band. Woods of Ypres' live lineups have ranged from three to six members at differing points, while two of their full length albums only credit two musicians as full band members. Singles and compilations aside, the only band member to appear on two of the band's main albums other than Gold was keyboardist Jessica Rose, who performed on both Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth and Woods III.

All of Woods of Ypres's albums (except Woods V) saw their initial release on independent labels,^[5] generally Krankenhaus Records & Practical Art Records, both of which were ran by frontman David Gold. Similarly, Woods of Ypres were notorious for their independently ran and booked headlining tours of Canada and the United States.

Death of David Gold[link]

Woods of Ypres played their last concert in Richmond, Virginia on June 9, 2011. Band members David Gold & Joel Violette recorded the band's final studio album Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light that August at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario.

On December 22, 2011, David Gold died at age 31, in an automobile accident near Barrie, Ontario.^[7]

Gold's passing ended plans for Woods of Ypres to play their first ever European tour in early 2012, along with scuttling the planned debuts of new band members Brendan Hayter & Rae Amitay. Woods of Ypres' fifth and final album, Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light, was released on February 27, 2012 in Europe, with the North American release coming two months later.

Members[link]

Former

• David Gold — vocals, guitars, bass, drums (2002–2011; core member)
• Brian McManus — guitar, vocals (2002–2003)
• Aaron Palmer — bass, vocals (2002–2003)
• Robin Cross — vocals (2003)
• Dustin Black — guitars (2003)
• Steve Jones — guitars (2003–2004)
• Connor Sharpe — bass (2003–2004)
• Jessica Rose — keyboards (2003–2008)
• Dan Hulse — bass guitar, vocals (2005–2007)
• Chris "Mezz" Mezzabotta — drums (2005–2007)
• Shawn Stoneman — guitars (2007)
• Lee Maines — guitars (2008)
• Bryan Belleau — guitar (2008–2010)
• Steve Furgiuele — bass (2008–2009)
• Evan Madden — drums (2008–2011)
• Brian Holmes — keyboards (2008)
• Shane Madden — bass (2009–2011)
• Joel Violette — lead guitar, studio bass (2010–2011)
• Brendan Hayter — bass (2011)
• Rae Amitay — drums (2011)

Discography[link]

Extended plays[link]

• Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat (2002, Krankenhaus Records, Night Birds Records)

Full lengths[link]

• Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth (2004, Krankenhaus Records)
• Woods III: The Deepest Roots and Darkest Blues (2008, Krankenhaus Records)^[8]
• Woods IV: The Green Album (2009, Practical Art Records, Earache Records)
• Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (2012, Earache Records)

Other releases[link]

• Independent Nature 2002-2007 - compilation (2009, Krankenhaus Records)
• Allure of the Earth - vinyl single (2009, Krankenhaus Records)
• Home - vinyl single (2011, Practical Art Records)

External reviews[link]

• Bravewords.com

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Woods of Ypres at MySpace
• "WOODS OF YPRES Interview with David Gold", Xplosive Metal, March 2011, Caroline Restiaux