At 156 meters, the Kemmelberg is the highest point in West Flanders and also the highlight of Gent-Wevelgem. The route is always controversial, as the way down the north side has often led to heavy falls. No wonder with a 20% gradient on difficult terrain. Meanwhile, the road surface has been renewed, which makes the descent a bit safer.

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Merle

December 25, 2021

Magnificent panorama of the region around Kemmel.

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🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

August 16, 2023

Historical information:
About 2,500 years ago, a Celtic community belonging to the Hallstatt culture settled on the Kemmelberg. The Celts built a fortress and maintained a trade relationship with the Romans.
During the First World War, the Kemmelberg was a strategic point and it was heavily fought over by the warring parties. During the spring offensive of 1918, German troops under General Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin took possession of the Kemmelberg on April 25. The next day a French counter-attack took place, but the German troops advanced as far as the Dikkebus pond. On April 29, the German advance was halted, the fighting continued until the end of July 1918. On September 5, the Kemmelberg was recaptured by the Allied troops with the help of the Americans. After the fighting, the hill was bare and was replanted with deciduous trees.
Archaeological excavations have been carried out since the 1960s.
On the western flank is a French mass grave with the remains of more than 5000 French soldiers who fell in the First World War. At the top is a memorial column, the Monument Aux Soldats Français, erected in 1932 and inaugurated by General Lacappelle. The column is 17 meters high and depicts the Roman goddess of victory Victoria. The monument is called "Monument Aux Soldats Francais" and is popularly called "Den Engel". Originally the column was 18 meters high, on top of the column was a laurel wreath with a French soldier's helmet on top, which, however, disappeared after a lightning strike in the 1970s.
On the southern edge is the Kemmel command bunker, a former Cold War command bunker of the Belgian army, which has been set up as a war museum since the end of October 2009.

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Elevation 200 m

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Location: Heuvelland, Ieper, West Flanders, Flanders, Belgium

Kemmelberg Monument to the French Soldiers

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