Ypres is located in West Flanders and is associated primarily with the period of World War I and the battles fought here, as a result of which it was seriously damaged.
Ypres developed at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries around a castle belonging to the counts of Flanders. The famous Flemish canvas was produced here since the Middle Ages, and the city became rich thanks to its sale. A reminder of those times is the monumental cloth hall building completed in 1304. It is one of the largest secular urban buildings in Europe. Together with the town hall located on the same square, Grote Markt, they form an integral whole, which was inscribed on the UNESCO list.
The buildings of the market are basically the only part of old Ypres that has survived to our times. The period of World War I and the four battles fought in the surrounding area cast a shadow over the city. In 1917, during one of them, the Germans first used mustard gas called mustard gas. Today, the Menenpoort memorial, visited by tourists from all over Europe, reminds of this tragic history.
