Nieuwpoort is located in Flanders and is comprised of the city proper and the towns of Ramskapelle (where the cemetery is located that I showed for Flanders) and Sint-Joris. We were here to see the Monument to King Albert I, the Soldier King, that was constructed to honor him in 1938.
The German army invaded Belgium in 1914, up until Nieuwpoort, near the sea, where they came to a grinding halt. This was achieved through the power of seawater and the smart coordination of the sluices and locks, which were opened to inundate the city. While the Germans were stopped, the city itself was destroyed.
The German army invaded Belgium in 1914, up until Nieuwpoort, near the sea, where they came to a grinding halt. This was achieved through the power of seawater and the smart coordination of the sluices and locks, which were opened to inundate the city. While the Germans were stopped, the city itself was destroyed.
The banks of the Yser River
The word 'Yser' is often seen in crossword puzzles. Do you do crosswords? Did you know the significance of the river before reading this?
Bonus: Ninebark shrub
Bonus: Ninebark shrub
How sad that the city had to suffer destruction while the army contained the German threat.
ReplyDeleteNamaste: Exotic Words with no English Equivalent
I've been trying to figure out why your link never works and I discovered that instead of '.com' your link has '.in'. Don't know if other Americans have this issue.
DeleteAlso, it has a slash mark at the end, which once I removed it, it worked.
DeleteVery interesting piece of history.. thanks for teaching us.
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Yes, interesting history
ReplyDeleteThanks for the history lesson. I didn't know such drastic measures were required. That's an impressive monument.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea about this. Another day, another lesson!
ReplyDeleteAnother day in Amble Bay!
This just shows what people will do to halt an army. This monument is impressive and it must have been a nice time to just walk around. I love the flower...so delicate looking!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful monument to an amazing story. Brave lot, we'ren't they, to sacrifice their town that way...
ReplyDeleteCalen~
Impromptu Promptlings
A to Z Challenge Letter M
I just showed your post to my son (he's 38) and was surprised that he'd read all about this. He appreciated your pictures. :)
DeleteI never knew the significance of the area until I visited.
DeleteThat was definitely a huge sacrifice to make for the war effort.
ReplyDeleteBad enough for the loss of life, but to destroy your own town is pretty drastic. Guess they felt they had nothing to lose.
DeleteDestroying a city to stop the invaders - quite a brave thing to do. Thanks for another really interesting look at the history of these places.
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No didn't know that story before. Used to be a joke told in Belgium. A German was shaking a Belgian and complaining saying "why don't you learn German?" The reply "what for, you only come once every 20 years". It is quite incredible to destroy a city like that.
ReplyDeleteWhile I had heard of the Battle of the Bulge, I had no idea so much destruction was spread across Belgium.
DeleteI have never heard of the Yser River although my husband is an avid crossword puzzler so I suspect he has. The story of their sacrifice was new to me too. So sad. WeekendsInMaine
ReplyDeleteWow, effective but sad to lose their city. So I presume it was rebuilt? Maui Jungalow
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