Lys monument in Kuurne

On 24 and 25 May 1940, where the Lys monument now stands, the most special battle of the entire 18-day campaign against the German troops, who had invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940, was fought during the Second World War. On the Lys, their advance was halted after a few days. On the Kuurn territory, German troops found the 12th Line regiment supplemented by soldiers from the regiment "Grenswachters-cyclisten" in front of them. The balance of the shelling that followed was terrible: 94 houses completely destroyed, 125 badly damaged and uninhabitable and 200 slightly damaged. 62 factories were completely destroyed or severely damaged.

During these two days of war, 106 Belgian soldiers, 1 English and (officially) 45 German soldiers were killed on Kuurn's territory. Many of the latter had already been removed.

The monument stands on the spot where the Belgian soldier, Joseph Verhaeghe of the 12th Line, died after heroic battle. It is said that the Germans paid him military honors afterwards.
Every third Sunday of May, the Lys monument is still paid annual tribute to the fallen of the battle on the Lys in Kuurne.

To commemorate the battle of the Lys, a peace path, made in collaboration with the Kuurnse Primary Schools, was built and inaugurated on 23 May 2008

On Tuesday 24 May 2016, King Philippe visited the municipality of Kuurne. First he talked to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, a delegation of Kuurnenaren and a number of prominent figures in the renewed town hall. He then attended the 70th memorial ceremony of the Lys Battle Committee at the Lys Monument. It was the first official visit of a King to the municipality. In addition to the numerous attendees at the town hall and the Leie, about 900 people from Kuenburg also followed the royal visit via livestreaming.

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