1915 Gas! Dream Castles?

The first major gas attack in history took place on 22 April 1915. Chlorine gas from the German front line drifted on the wind between Steenstraat and Langemark towards the French troops who had no protection against it. More than one thousand men died and the allied salient front at Ieper was almost breached. This marked the beginning of several months of bloody combat in which five more gas attacks were launched and the allied front was driven back to less than 4 km from the city centre. The civilian population was forced to abandon the city. This later became known as the Second Battle of Ieper. During the next 27 months, the "small" Ieper salient remained a constant threat and the city was virtually reduced to rubble.

The first part of this historical double exhibition recounts these tragic events in a unique manner. Previously unseen film material, clarifying overviews and documentaries illustrate the second year of the war as part of the centenary commemorations of Ieper and the front region.

Before the war, Ieper was not just famous for being a medieval city, but also for the numerous castles and extensive country estates in the surronding area. In the first year of the war, many were affected by the violence. They were destroyed because the front line transversed the estate, or used as headquarters, medical post or camp sites. The war brought the glory days of most of these castmes to an end. A few were restored, some were rebuilt, but most of them were never restored to their pre-war glory or used for the same purpose. In some cases, there is nothing left but dense woodlands. In other cases, the name of a war cemetery is the only reminder that this was once the site of a castle.

The second part of the double exhibition immediately serves an an introduction to three other exhibitions on castle grounds in the area, this at Heuvelland (Kemmel), Zonnebeke and Poperinge (De Lovie).