IJzertoren

Geschiedenis

The Yser Tower is a memorial along the Belgian Yser river in Diksmuide. It's a peace monument and commemorates the soldiers killed on the Yser Front during World War I. It's also an important place within the Flemish Movement.History and ideologyFrom the start of Belgium until the first World War, the official language in the Belgian army was French and most officers were monolingual French-speaking. During World War I, a lot of soldiers were recruited to fight in the trenches. The majority of those soldiers were Flemish. The estimates of the number of Flemish soldiers who fought in the trenches range between 65% and 80% of the number of Belgian soldiers. During the war, this resulted in the Flemish Movement, and the demand for more Flemish rights.After the war, in 1930, the first Yser Tower was built in Kaaskerke, near Diksmuide, where a lot of Flemish soldiers died. It was built by an organisation of former Flemish soldiers. The tower also is decorated with the abbreviations AVV-VVK (Alles Voor Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen voor Kristus; All for Flanders-Flanders for Christ).The Yser Tower site is also the burial place of some Flemish soldiers killed during the fighting on the Yser Front. It is also the place where the Brothers Van Raemdonck are buried. According to popular memory, both brothers were soldiers in the Belgian army both of whom were killed. The story gained considerable importance in the Flemish Movement after the war.

"‘Aan de IJzer’ is een Europese Vredessite, met de Paxpoort, de IJzercrypte en centraal op de site de IJzertoren. De IJzertoren herbergt een vredesmuseum met 22 verdiepingen. In 2014 werd het museum volledig heringericht om de bezoekers nog beter, interactiever en belevingsgerichter een inkijk te bieden in de Groote Oorlog, met klemtoon vooral op de Belgisch-Duitse confrontatie. De museale invulling focust op de vredesgedachte.Geniet tijdens je bezoek zeker van het uniek zicht vanuit de panoramazaal, 72 meter boven de ‘Vlaamse Velden’ of bij goed weer vanop het dakterras, 84 meter hoog boven de ‘le plat pays’ van de Westhoek. Je hebt er een adembenemend panoramisch uitzicht over de hele frontstreek."