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MuseumsSince the First World War many museums and collections have been opened in the Salient. Some of these have survived to the present day, whilst others have closed and their exhibits disbanded. In recent years, increased numbers of tourists have sparked the renovation of some of the older museums and the opening of completely new collections. The following are open in 2007. Please follow website links for information on opening times and admission charges. For those that don’t have websites I’ve provided this information correct at the time of writing (February 2007).
In Flanders Fields Museum (Tour Guide) For those who are visiting the Salient for the first time, the In Flanders Fields Museum is probably the best museum to give a broad overview of the fighting in this region from 1914 to 1918. The museum is fully interactive with touch-screen menus providing detail on everything from military strategy to life in the trenches to weaponry. At the admission desk you’ll be given a ticket representing one of the soldiers who fought in the Salient. When fed into computer terminals at various points in the museum, you’ll find out a little more about the soldier including his home life before the war, where he fought and, ultimately, his fate. There are also some excellent photographs, maps and remarkable First World War ciné film, which combine to give visitors a taste of the First World War in the Salient. The museum takes just over an hour to view and there is a very good book and souvenir shop located on the ground floor as you exit. Special exhibitions are also featured – a recent one being about the effect war had on the landscape of the region. For further information visit the website at www.inflandersfields.be
Ramparts 1914-1918 War Museum (Tour Guide) Located next to the Lille Gate, the Ramparts Museum contains a small but interesting collection of life-size trench dioramas, looped film documentary and various relics of the fighting. It is an ideal stop-off during a walk along the town ramparts, particularly as the museum is an extension of the café “T Klein Rijsel” which serves food and refreshments including a special “Peace Beer”. It is open every day except Wednesdays and admission is €3. There are reductions for group bookings, which are advised to book in advance.
Tyne Cot Visitors Centre (Tour Guide) Opened for 2007, the Tyne Cot Visitors Centre caters for the increasing number of tourists that come here. Located to the right of the cemetery and memorial as you walk from the new car park, the centre has a number of very interesting exhibits including two computer terminals linked to the CWGC website where you can search for details of relations who died whilst on active duty. From speakers around the centre, the voice of a young woman reads out the names of the missing. Very moving. The Visitors Centre is open daily and admission is free.
Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 Situated in the middle of Zonnebeke, next to the church, the Passchendaele Memorial Museum 1917 contains a number of exhibits focusing on the fighting for the Passchendaele Ridge in 1917. Of particular interest is the recreated British dugout - a maze of half-lit passageways echoing with the sounds of war, and an explanation of the work of the Belgian Army bomb disposal experts in making safe the munitions that are still found in the area. For further information please visit www.passchendaele.be.
Hooge Crater War Museum 1914-1918 (Tour Guide) This busy museum, which was originally a chapel to the fallen, opened in 1994. It has some really interesting exhibits, foremost amongst them a replica Fokker DR1 triplane as used by the “Red Baron”, Manfred von Richthofen and a section of “A”-frame trench, recently unearthed to the north of Ieper. There are also a welter of maps, photographs, uniforms, medals, weaponry and munitions. Most amazing of all, however, is the collection of polished and engraved brass shell-cases that line the walls and the bar of the adjacent café – well worth a visit. For further information visit the website at www.hoogecrater.com.
Sanctuary Wood Museum and Preserved Trenches (Tour Guide) No trip to the Salient would be complete without a visit to this museum, which is remarkable for two reasons – its preserved trenches and collection of 3-D picture viewers, which contain some of the most graphic and gruesome images of the First World War that you’ll see anywhere. The story of how this site was preserved is quite amazing. The Schier family owned Sanctuary Wood before the war and, on their return after the fighting; they fenced in the trenches and left them for posterity in the belief that they would be of interest to future generations. A small museum was added later and the artefacts hidden during the Second World War – the Schier family told the Germans that the British had stolen them! Jacques Schier now runs the museum and maintains the trenches. A genuine must-see. There is an admission charge and opening hours are daily from 10am to 5pm.
Messines Museum A small museum on the upper floor of the town hall; if you speak to a worker in one of the offices downstairs, they’ll usually fetch someone to unlock the museum and let you in. There are some interesting artefacts in the museum, particularly some paintings by Adolf Hitler who served in the trenches near here. There is a small entrance fee.
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