The best city hikes and walks around Polygonebos

A very well-maintained cemetery right by the water.

Ramparts Cemetery, Lille Gate is a British military cemetery for the war dead of the First World War, located in the Belgian city of Ypres. The cemetery is situated within the Ypres ramparts, next to the Lille Gate, and covers an area of 1,871 m².

The Rijselpoort (Lille Gate) is a city gate in the Belgian city of Ypres. It is located in the south of the city center, on the road to Lille. The Rijselpoort is the oldest and only preserved city gate from the fourteenth century, connecting two remaining sections of Ypres's fortifications.

The Hauntings is a 6.5-meter-high artwork, entirely made of wrought iron. The sculpture is installed on the photo island near the Menin Gate. This effigy looks towards the Menin Gate, symbolically towards the names of those who did not return from the battlefield. The initiative for the statue came from Jo Oliver, who lives in the vicinity of Dorset and Somerset. In her youth, Jo heard a story about a young soldier who wandered through the misty fields. You could hear him, feel him, and sometimes even see him as he searched for his home, his loved ones, and his final destination. When she later moved near these fields, Jo saw it as her mission to have this figure sculpted from a weld of discarded metal pieces. The intricate details allowed light to filter through its form, giving the sculpture a mystical aura. This soldier is the common man. He is not connected to any race or politics, and certainly not to a love of war. He plays an essential role, commemorating all that is good in the common man challenged by war or other adversity. After its installation at the Menin Gate, the sculpture will return to the United Kingdom for its final, permanent location: the estate of Jo and her husband Paul.

St. Martin's Church, commonly known as St. Martin's Cathedral, is a church in the Belgian city of Ypres. This church was the cathedral of the former diocese of Ypres, which existed from 1561 to 1801. Initially, a Romanesque church, probably dating from the 10th or 11th century, stood in this area. Initially, a Romanesque church, probably dating from the 10th or 11th century, stood in this area. In the eighth century, the diocese of Thérouanne (now Thérouanne, on the Lys River and south of Saint-Omer) was founded. Emperor Charles V destroyed the abbeys of Thérouanne because the abbots were too loyal to the French king. In 1561, the diocese of Thérouanne was dissolved into three dioceses: Boulogne-sur-Mer, Saint-Omer, and Ypres. The church of St. Martin's Monastery (canons regular of St. Augustine) was then elevated to cathedral status. Cornelius Jansenius was the most famous bishop of the diocese of Ypres. The concordat between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII of 1801 abolished the diocese of Ypres, and from then on, the parishes belonged to the diocese of Ghent. In 1833, the diocese of Bruges was reestablished, under which Ypres has been incorporated ever since. St. Martin's Church was completely destroyed during the First World War and subsequently rebuilt (1922-1930). Before the First World War, the church had a lower spire than the current one. The spire was destroyed during the war and later rebuilt, but with a slightly different, higher spire.

The Hauntings is a 6.5-meter-high statue of a soldier, made from discarded metal parts. It looks at the names of the missing persons on the Menin Gate. The statue is an initiative of British artist Jo Oliver, who as a child heard about a soldier who never came home. The creation is her way of commemorating this figure. After the exhibition, the statue will return to the United Kingdom for a permanent place on the owners' estate. It remains in Ypres until December 7, 2025. The period has been extended by six months, so the statue is still on display.

The original Kloosterpoort (Cloister Gate) dates from around 1500. It provided access to the domain of the St. Martin's Provostry, which was abolished in 1560 after the establishment of the Diocese of Ypres. It was rebuilt in the Classical style in 1780 and restored in 1938. The city theatre was previously used as a drinking establishment for the Provostry. In 1803, the building changed ownership, and its function changed. From then on, concerts were organized there. The city theatre was destroyed during the First World War and rebuilt in the 1930s. (c) https://www.toerismeieper.be/kloosterpoort

Part of the canal belt around Ypres with a rich fauna and flora.