The Lange Max Museum (LMM) is devoted to the German

38 cm SK L/45 "Max" The 38 cm SK L/45 "Max",In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (german: Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/45 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/45 gun is 45 calibers, meaning that the ...

gun and the German occupation of

Koekelare Koekelare (; vls, Kookloare) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Bovekerke, Koekelare proper and Zande. On 1 January 2006 Koekelare had a total population of 8,291. The tota ...

and the nearby area in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The focus on the German side of the war makes it a unique museum in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The museum is named after the nickname of the German gun "Lange Max", which was one of the biggest guns in the world in 1917, and is located in

. The museum was opened in October 2014 by the

Minister-President of Flanders The Minister-President of Flanders ( nl, Minister-president van Vlaanderen) is the head of the Flemish Government, which is the executive branch of the Flemish Region and Flemish Community.See the communities, regions and language areas of Bel ...

Geert Bourgeois Geert Albert Bourgeois (; born 6 July 1951) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-Pr ...

. It is located on a domain called Site Lange Max, which includes a farmyard. The site includes other protected monuments such as a bakehouse, the artillery platform and a former German mess. The museum provides information about the "Lange Max" gun that bombarded Dunkirk and also

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

in 1917 . Dunkirk is located at about ± 45 km from Koekelare. The information is available in four languages: Dutch, German, English and French. Audio guides in Dutch, English and German are also available.

Notable visitors

During the

Interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

, the Pommern battery was one of the most successful attractions in battlefield tourism in Belgium. It was featured in the

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

"L'Yser et la côte belge". Notable visitors to the Site Lange Max over time include: *

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, around the Interwar period. * Hirohito, 124th Emperor of Japan *

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, 28th President of the United States. * Prince Edward, future King of the United Kingdom and

Emperor of India Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948, that was used to signify their rule over British India, as its imperial head of state. Royal Proclamation of 22 ...

(10 December 1918). * Prince George, future King of the United Kingdom and

(10 December 1918). * Raymond Poincaré, French President (9 November 1918). *

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Ar ...

, Marshal of France. * Prince Leopold, future King of the Belgians (9 November 1918). *

(October 2014). * Bart Tommelein, Vice Minister-President and Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget and Energy in the Bourgeois Government (March 2016). * Sven Gatz, Flemish Minister for Culture, Youth, Media and Brussels in the Bourgeois Government (June 2016).

Nearby points of interest

* Hovaeremolen (

) which was used as an observation post during World War I * Käthe Kollwitz Museum in

* Fransmansmuseum in

Vladslo German war cemetery Vladslo German war cemetery is about three kilometres north east of Vladslo, near Diksmuide, Belgium. Established during World War I, the cemetery holds 3,233 wartime burials. In 1956, burials from many smaller surrounding cemeteries were concen ...

* Yser Tower, memorial for the soldiers killed on the

Yser Front The Yser Front (french: Front de l'Yser, nl, Front aan de IJzer or ), sometimes termed the West Flemish Front in British writing, was a section of the Western Front during World War I held by Belgian troops from October 1914 until 1918. The front ...

during World War I *

Dodengang The Dodengang (Dutch, also called Trench of Death in English and ''Le Boyau de la mort'' in French) is a World War I memorial site located near Diksmuide, Belgium. The site is located about from the IJzertoren in the centre of the city, and set ...

, World War I memorial site located near Diksmuide

Temporary Exhibitions

* Temporary Exhibition 2016 (2016-2017): "The effect of the inundation on German warfare" (Dutch: "De gevolgen van de onderwaterzetting voor de Duitse oorlogsvoering") * Temporary Exhibition 2017 (2017-2018): "The III. Flandernschlacht in our region" (Dutch: "De III. Flandernschlacht in onze regio")

Awards and recognition

* 2014: Culture award ( Gerdi Staelens, for Lange Max Museum) * 2015: Raf Seys Price * 2015: Nomination Heritage Price 2015 West Flanders Province (one of the 20 projects selected out of 500 entries). * 2016: Belgium's third best museum.De 10 beste musea - België. Nr. 3 - Lange Max Museum - 01/09/2016
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Image gallery

Image:38cmBttrPommern.jpg, 'Long Max' in

. Biggest gun in the world in 1917. Image:Lange Max van het Lange Max Museum.png, Long Max (also known as Leugenboom gun) in

. Image:(Vue_aérienne_verticale_de_Leugenboom_en_Belgique)_-_Fonds_Berthelé_-_49Fi1709.jpg, Picture of Battery Pommern (= 'Long Max' gun) in

Image:Sven Gatz op bezoek in het Lange Max Museum.jpg, Flemish Minister for Culture Sven Gatz visiting the Lange Max Museum (June 2016). Image:German cannon Lange Max.jpg, The remains of the artillery platform of the former German cannon "Long Max" in

, Belgium.

References

*Raf Seys, Commeine L.: ''Lange Max : het groot kanon van Leugenboom'', Devriendt, Koekelare, 192 p.

External links

* {{coord, 51.1169, N, 2.9823, E, source:wikidata, display=title World War I museums in Belgium Museums in West Flanders Military and war museums Military and war museums in Belgium History museums in Belgium World War I sites in Belgium Koekelare