Ypres, Medieval municipality in West Flanders, Belgium
Ypres is a town in West Flanders that stretches along the Ieperlee River and is surrounded by numerous military memorials from the First World War. The rebuilt center shows brick facades and a large rectangular market square with medieval public buildings that were reconstructed after heavy destruction.
The settlement emerged in the Middle Ages as a trading center for textiles and rapidly gained importance through the cloth trade. During the First World War it lay on the front line and was almost completely destroyed before reconstruction took place over the following decades.
The name derives from the small river Ieperlee that runs through the town and has shaped the local character for centuries. Today residents use the reconstructed squares and streets for weekly markets and events that echo medieval traditions.
The old town can be explored on foot, and many memorials lie in the surrounding area outside the center. Visitors wishing to see several cemeteries may need a bicycle or car as distances between sites vary.
Beneath the ramparts and squares run medieval cellars and passages that served as shelters during the war. Some of these underground spaces are now accessible and show traces of both periods that shaped the town.
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