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Ypres
Ypres (French, generally used in English, French , English ), Ieper (official name in Dutch, pronounced ), or Ypern (German) 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.
HistoryOrigins to World War IYpres is an ancient town, and is known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC.[1] During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous city with a population of 40,000, [2] renowned for its linen 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 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
Ypres On Fire In the First Battle of Ypres (31 October to 22 November 1914) the Allies 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 Senegalese and Algerian 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. 
Ruins of Ypres ? 1919 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
Cloth Hall at night 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. The association may be regarded as somewhat gruesome because 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 for cities never to 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 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. SightsTown centre
Saint Martin's Cathedral 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 ceremony at the Menin Gate 
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.
Events
Famous inhabitants
The fountain in the Grote Markt, Ieper, opposite the Cloth Hall.
Twin cities
See alsoExternal links
Notes
Footnote1 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.
br:Ieper ca:Ieper cs:Ypry da:Ieper de:Ieper et:Ieper el:??? es:Ypres eo:Ipro fr:Ypres id:Ieper it:Ypres la:Ypra lv:Ipra nl:Ieper ja:???? no:Ieper nds:Ieper pl:Ypres pt:Ypres ro:Ypres ru:??? simple:Ieper fi:Ypres sv:Ypern vo:Ieper vls:Yper zh:??? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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