Nature is gradually reclaiming the Vloethemveld military domain

This signposted walk (yellow) goes completely around the quiet area that makes up the largest part of this 350 ha nature reserve.

She starts at the spacious parking lot in the newly planted new forest and passes the reception (the old 'camp house' ) where, among other things, the works of art can still be viewed. The memorial site with 10 silhouettes between the green barracks is also located here. Then it goes to the water hut where birds can be spotted. In the meantime we pass the barrack streets.

We then enter the older part of the forest to climb the heath tower a little further. Here we get a view of the merlons , raised ramparts that shielded the ammunition depots from each other to prevent the flames from spreading from one to the other in the event of an explosion or fire .

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 ...

You can visit the reception, the Waterhut for bird watching and the heath tower .

Check out the best way to spot all the birds in the water hut here.

Do not forget to consult the sights once on site . They explain the rich past here...