Stadshal met Belfort and Landhuis met Belfort

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Stadshal met Belfort

   Nieuwpoort's cloth hall and belfry look medieval, and in a sense they are: they follow the design of the thirteenth-century originals. But almost everything you see was rebuilt after the First World War, when the town was reduced to rubble. Nieuwpoort lay at the northern end of the Western Front, where the River Yser reaches the sea, and in October 1914 the Belgians made a decision that changed the course of the war. By opening the sluices of the canals and the river at high tide, they flooded the low-lying land between Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, creating a barrier of water that stopped the German advance. The front line stayed there for four years, and the town was shelled into ruins. The belfry is part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France.

   Read the complete Stadshal met Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Stadshal met Belfort is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis met Belfort.

2. 2. Stadhuis met Belfort

   Diksmuide was almost wiped from the map in the First World War. The town stood right on the front line along the Yser, and from 1914 to 1918 it was pounded into rubble, along with its town hall, belfry and church. In October 1914, the Belgian army halted the German advance by opening the sluices at Nieuwpoort and flooding the low-lying plain, creating a watery barrier that held for four years. After the war, the town was rebuilt in the old style, with the town hall and belfry carefully reconstructed on the market square, and the belfry is now part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France.

   Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Stadhuis met Belfort comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Landhuis met Belfort.

3. 3. Landhuis met Belfort

   Veurne's market square is one of the most complete in Flanders, and the old Landhuis, with its belfry rising behind it, is the reason. The Landhuis was the seat of the castellany, the regional administration that governed the surrounding countryside, and its belfry is part of the group of Belgian and French belfries protected by UNESCO. Around the square stand the town hall, the old meat hall and a row of gabled houses, many dating back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when Veurne was under Spanish rule, which explains the stepped gables and ornate facades.

   Read the complete Landhuis met Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 35 km into the recorded legs you reach Landhuis met Belfort. Next is back through Stadhuis met Belfort.

4. 4. back through Stadhuis met Belfort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Stadhuis met Belfort, late in the day. Next is Stadshal met Belfort.

5. 5. Stadshal met Belfort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Stadshal met Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Stadshal met Belfort. That is the ride.