Chasing Marie Curie on a motorcycle during World War I

Did you know that the famous scientist Marie Curie was active here in West Flanders during World War I! With this motor route, you will visit some places where she practically applied her discoveries to help wounded soldiers. With her radiological equipment, Curie could see where bullets and shrapnel were located in the body, and she could assess complex fractures. Starting in December 1914, when she went to Veurne at the request of Frans Daels, Curie went on missions 45 times. For thirty missions, she drove to the front. Eleven times, Curie went on missions to the front lines in Westhoek. Alexandre Millerand, the French Minister of War, ensured that Curie could drive her radiology cars very close to the front lines. It was very unusual for a woman to be so close to the combat zone. The fact that it was a double Nobel Prize winner was truly unmatched. Discover more about this region, this era, and this remarkable woman on this bike tour.