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PECS Cultural Package
Daytrip to Ieper
Ypres (Ieper) is not as widely recognized as Ghent or Bruges, nor Brussels or Antwerp. However, it is one of the Belgian cities that will impress any visitor.
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the province of West Flanders. It is an ancient town, famous for its cloth industry. It gained notoriety during World War I due to its strategic location and the use of chlorine gas, also called Yperite.
We will start our visit with a walking tour through the centre of Ypres. The guide will cover the rich history and takes the group among others to the Saint Georges Memorial Church, the beautiful interior of Saint Martin's Cathedral and the council chamber of the City Hall. A short stop on the Market Square to admire the impressive Cloth Hall before ending the walk under the Menin Gate.
In the afternoon, we will visit the trenches as well as a number of cemeteries and memorials of the Ieper Salient. They all are similar in their function, but different in design and the nationality of soldiers who are buried there. There are soldiers from Great Britain, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany,... Thousands and thousands of young men, many of them as young as most of us are now, who gave their life for peace.
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