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Dodendraad Memorial De Klinge

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Places to see

Belgium

Flanders

East Flanders

Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Gillis-Waas

Dodendraad Memorial De Klinge

Recommended by 170 hikers out of 175

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Location: Sint-Gillis-Waas, Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium

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Best Hikes to Dodendraad Memorial De Klinge

4.7

(65)

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1. Dodendraad Memorial De Klinge – Clinge Play Forest loop from De Klinge

9.13km

02:18

10m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

4.6

(10)

109

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2. Dutch-Belgian Border Trail – Stropersbos loop from Kapellebrug

24.7km

06:13

30m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Expert

4.7

(14)

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3. Spanish Line in Stropersbos – Dutch-Belgian Border Trail loop from De Klinge

20.8km

05:15

20m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Tips

Katrien

September 18, 2021

After the fall of Antwerp on October 10, 1914, the Waasland quickly came under German occupation. The border with the neutral Netherlands is cordoned off with German sentries. These soldiers cannot prevent the border from being often crossed by smugglers. Food prices in the Netherlands are much lower and bold smugglers can sell the products on the black market for a big profit. In addition to economic goods, volunteers for the Belgian army, soldiers' letters and spies are also smuggled across the border. In the spring of 1915, the Germans tried to stop the smuggling by laying the death wire. A high-voltage electrical wire is supposed to deter smugglers. The high voltage on the Death Wire ensures that people are electrocuted at the slightest contact with the wire. During this period the inhabitants are not yet aware of the dangers of electricity. To the left and right of the electric barrier, a protective wire is placed in barbed wire or in chicken wire. Inventive smugglers soon found numerous ways to overcome the wire: barrels without messengers, a wooden window system, protective rubber clothing… Hundreds of daredevils all over the Belgian-Dutch border, however, paid for their crossing with their lives, including at least three victims in De Klinge and Meerdonk.

Source: klingspoor.be/grens/dodendraad

Translated by Google •

Dominiek Van Dooren

September 5, 2023

Did you know that the original Death Wire had 2000 volts? In this reconstruction, this deadly voltage has been replaced by a harmless bell. Can you climb the Death Wire without ringing the bell? Nice assignment for the children.

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🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

October 28, 2023

The Death Wire, also known as Death Fence, was a 332 kilometer long wire barrier that was constructed by the German occupiers of Belgium during the First World War along the border between occupied Belgium and the neutral Netherlands. In German documents the barrier was officially referred to as Grenzhochspannunghindernis. The barrier was under deadly electrical voltage and was intended to prevent war volunteers and German deserters from fleeing Belgium. The fencing was also intended to prevent espionage messages from occupied territory from reaching Allied espionage services via the Netherlands and to prevent smuggling. The Death Wire is estimated to have killed many hundreds of people, but could not prevent thousands of people from crossing the border in many different ways. After the war, the entire death thread was quickly dismantled.

Nowadays, like here in De Klinge, you will come across many reconstructions along the Belgian-Dutch border.

Translated by Google •

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Tuesday 23 September

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Location: Sint-Gillis-Waas, Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium

Dodendraad Memorial De Klinge

1. Dodendraad Memorial De Klinge – Clinge Play Forest loop from De Klinge

2. Dutch-Belgian Border Trail – Stropersbos loop from Kapellebrug

3. Spanish Line in Stropersbos – Dutch-Belgian Border Trail loop from De Klinge

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