Reception building Kamphuis Vloethemveld - Zedelgem

On October 1, 2022, the Kamphuis was opened to the general public!

In the reception building you can get information about Vloethemveld, about the beautiful nature and about the rich history, but also about the tourist assets in the region. You can buy the Vloethemveld walking network maps and enjoy a coffee or a local beer. The timeline, the nature wall, the heritage wall, the finds and the various videos offer you a first acquaintance with the domain.

You can ask for information and tips from the volunteers of Vloethemveld vzw who keep the reception building open. Opening hours 2022 October 3 - November 6: every Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

History

The 'field' was reclaimed from the 13th century . Several large farms in the region still testify to this.

If you are wandering around Zedelgem/Jabbeke today and passing by the Vloethemveld, you can hardly imagine it, but this place played an important role in both world wars . During the First World War , 18,000 German soldiers stayed in these parts. They had the trees cut down and the trunks used for the trenches on the Yser.

After the First World War , the already wooded Vloethemveld became a military domain . A railway, the Vloethemveldzate, connected the domain with the station of Zedelgem. The tracks were only broken up in 1995. An ammunition depot of the Belgian army (1924-1994) was built

After World War II , the British established a Prisoners of War camp in the woods. More than a hundred thousand German and Baltic soldiers were housed in tents and barracks and lived in hellish conditions for two years. Meanwhile, the local population knew little or nothing about this camp. English soldiers, reinforced with Belgian conscripts, took care of the security and there was virtually no contact with the outside world . It explains why the Vloethemveld POW camp is not part of our collective memory.

For a hundred years, Vloethemveld was a military domain where war ammunition was piled up and destroyed.

Only recently has a part of the forest on the territory been opened up to the public . The other part is a quiet area and can only be visited with a guide . Sheep, among others, now graze between the barracks ...

Willem Vandenameele