cinemavauban

Our fortified town

How do you condense three centuries into seven minutes? You'll find out on the second floor, where you can lie down in “Cinema Vauban” for a film about Ypres from 1566 to the 19th century.

Ypres is closely linked to its fortifications. These fortifications have defined the city's identity since the 10th century. Ypres grew so large as a thriving cloth-making town that it literally burst at the seams and even had a second ring of fortifications for a time. These disappeared, along with the outer parishes, after the Siege of Ypres in 1383. There were once ten gates. Today, the Menin Gate and the Lille Gate are the best-known landmarks in the fortifications. Until around 1860, the city gates were still closed every evening.

The Flemish count Arnulf initiated the construction of an earthen rampart with a gate in the north, the Torhoutpoort, and in the south, the Rijselpoort. During the Golden Age of Ypres, the population grew enormously. The space within the walls became too small. This led to the creation of outer parishes, where mainly craftsmen lived. Given the many disturbances in the 14th century, the craftsmen asked for the suburbs to be fortified. This was granted by Gwijde van Dampiere after 1302. Windmills stood on the dykes within the moats.

During the Siege of Ypres in 1383, the people of Ghent and England attacked the cloth-making city, partly for economic gain. The people of Ypres were victorious, but the second line of fortifications was lost forever and the outer parishes were abolished. The city withdrew within its first line of fortifications.

The Siege of Ypres exposed the weak point in the Ypres fortifications: the earthen ramparts were insufficient to withstand heavy artillery. The 4,500-metre stone ring wall was built at the expense of the city and commissioned by the Burgundian Duke Philip the Bold. This brought Ypres to the forefront of 14th-century fortification engineering.

In the 17th century, there were many conflicts between Spain and France, with Ypres often caught in the crossfire. The Spanish therefore built six demi-lunes or ravelins, triangular islands in the moats, on which artillery pieces were placed. In 1669, the Spanish king Charles II decided to build a citadel.

Louis XIV pursued an aggressive foreign policy. Ypres also fell into French hands for a long time. Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban decided to make Ypres an impregnable fortress by constructing bastions or pentagonal extensions in the fortress wall. The Spanish citadel was demolished.

Photo: Ground plan of the Spanish Citadel, 1669-1678 (SM 000995)

After the fall of Napoleon, Ypres became an important buffer town under the authority of the North Netherlands troops. William I commissioned engineer Lobry to restore the old Vauban fortifications.

In 1851, the Belgian government decided to demolish the fortifications once and for all. The city gained more space for a railway station, prison, state school, slaughterhouse and swimming pool, among other things. Fortunately, a large part of the fortifications was spared demolition due to a lack of funds.

The casemates, bombproof shelters in the fortifications, were eagerly used by the people of Ypres during both wars. During the First World War, the Casemates also served as a military bakery and later as a mushroom farm, cheese ripening cellar, storage space, brewery and brasserie.

Louis Fuchs, a landscape architect from Brussels, laid out walking paths and planted trees on the embankments of the ramparts from 1858 onwards. Today, we can still enjoy the beautiful green belt surrounding the city