The Nobele Roos

This building, the Nobele Roos (Noble Rose), dates from 1572-1575, but from the 12th century onwards the buildings on this site were occupied by the widows of kings, the Knights Templar and the Knights of St. John. In the 19th century it became a hospice for visitors to the town. Amongst those staying here (in 1906) was the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

When it became clear that the Belgian towns were being reduced to rubble by the bombardments, the Belgian Government commissioned the architect Eugène Dhuicque to make a well-documented survey of the historic buildings in the unoccupied zone and to remove, as far as possible, all remaining works of art to a place of safety away from the front.

After the war there was a serious debate about whether the war-damaged towns should be rebuilt in their original style or in a more modern style. Dhuicque was one of the modernists, who argued for new towns, in which some of the war ruins could be preserved as monuments. His opinion was not followed. The towns were rebuilt as almost exact copies of the originals.

The Nobele Roos is the only building for which Dhuique was actively involved in the restoration work after the Armistice. However, during his mission he collected a huge photographic archive, which was much used by other architects for other post-war restoration projects. This archive will be republished in the autumn of 2014, but several of the photos (Veurne, Ieper and Lo) are already included in this app. (© Onroerend Erfgoed).

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