Zonnebeke (; vls, Zunnebeke) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. The municipality comprises the villages of , ,

Passendale Passendale () or Passchendaele (; obsolete spelling, retained in English; vls, Passchendoale) is a rural Belgian village in the Zonnebeke municipality of West Flanders province. It is close to the town of Ypres, situated on the hill ridge sepa ...

, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population of 11,758. The total area is 67.57 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 174 inhabitants per km².

History

Destruction on the Western Front 1914-1918 Q12282

The villages of Zonnebeke congregated around a large

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

and its associated

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in Nonnebosschen. Both were destroyed during the iconoclastic outbreak in 1580. Only the abbey was rebuilt, but was looted during the French occupation the abbey was confiscated. Passendale played a role in the

Battle of Westrozebeke The Battle of Roosebeke (sometimes referred by its contemporary name as Battle of Westrozebeke) took place on 27 November 1382 on the Goudberg between a Flemish army under Philip van Artevelde and a French army under Louis II of Flanders who ha ...

in 1382. Situated in the centre of the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

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 ...

destroyed the whole area. Left abandoned until the early 1920s, people slowly returned and rebuilt the villages. In 1932, the locals opened a cheese making facility, which to this day is the only source of

Passendale cheese Passendale cheese, named for Passendale, the village where it originated, is one of the best-known cheeses of Belgium. Regular Passendale cheese is produced in two versions, Classic and Prelude. There is also a premium version, Passendale Bel Age. ...

. Another battle during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

during the Allied advance across Europe, where Passendale was used in a defensive operations by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s, did little damage. Today, Zonnebeke has returned to its long-time balance between

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, small business and work in the neighbouring towns. Its major industry is the

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...

in the village of Zonnebeke itself, which extracts the local blue clay.

Zonnebeke underground

Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 - Zonnebeke Church Dugout model

The village and district of Zonnebeke and its five villages have the largest concentration of underground constructions from World War I, being located at the centre of the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

. The blue-clay is now being extracted for commercial purposes by the Terca Zonnebeke N.V.

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

, meaning that the structures are now regularly found as the brickworks expands its commercial extraction activities. About 180 dugout sites have been located in the

and in the 1990s some of them were entered, at least in part.Activities of The Diggers - Restoration of the Yorkshire Trench & Dug-out
access date 10 July 2015 In 1983, the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n-built

Bremen Redoubt Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consi ...

was discovered at the rear of the Zonnebeke brickworks. Opened to the public until 1998, it is believed that its eventual collapse was due to drying support timbers. During archaeological excavations of the Augustinian abbey, another dugout was discovered under Zonnebeke church. Today the outline of this dugout is marked in an archaeological garden within the church grounds, and a model of the church dugout can be seen at the "

Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 The Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 in Zonnebeke is a Belgian museum devoted to the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) where in 1917 in only 100 days, almost 500,000 men were killed for only eight kilo ...

" in Zonnebeke. On February 21, 1998, a farmer's wife disappeared into the ground while washing the windows. Beecham dugout was subsequently discovered less than from

Tyne Cot Cemetery Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front. It is th ...

. It was made public in spring 2006 that the brickworks had received a licence for the extension of its blue-clay extraction zone. The Association for Battlefield Archaeology and Conservation, using maps compiled of 350 underground structures under the management of Belgian archaeologist Johan Vandewalle and British TV producer Peter Barton, showed that at least one structure was near to the proposed development zone, believed to be the

Vampire dugout The ''Vampire'' dugout (known locally in Belgium as the ''Vampyr'' dugout), is a First World War underground shelter located near the Belgian village of Zonnebeke. It was created as a British brigade headquarters in early 1918 by the 171st Tunnell ...

, which had been rediscovered in 2007. Following discussion with local preservation, historic, council and state officials, the ABAC was allowed to start a scientific research project. They engaged the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

to provide archaeological support (in light of the residence of the Highland Light Infantry).

Towns

The municipality comprises the villages of Zonnebeke proper, , ,

and Zandvoorde. All are "

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...

s", meaning they were independent municipalities before the merger in the 1970s. The municipality of Zonnebeke borders the following towns and municipalities: *a.

Moorslede Moorslede () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dadizele, Slypskapelle and Moorslede proper. On 1 January 2006, Moorslede had a total population of 10,618. The total area is ...

(municipality Moorslede) with village *b. (municipality Moorslede) *c.

Geluwe Geluwe (Hilwe in West Flemish) is a town in the West Flemish province of Belgium. It is contained within the municipality of Wervik. The town is known for the "yawning festival" (Dutch: gapersfeesten). The name Geluwe comes from the word gilwe, old ...

(municipality Wervik) *d.

Wervik Wervik (; french: Wervicq, ; vls, Wervik; la, Viroviacum) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Wervik and the town of Geluwe. On January 1, 2014, Wervik had a total p ...

(municipality Wervik) with village *e. (municipality

Comines-Warneton Comines-Warneton (; nl, Komen-Waasten, ; pcd, Comène-Warneuton; vls, Koomn-Woastn; wa, Cômene-Varneton) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, it had a total population of 17 ...

) with village *f. (municipality Comines-Warneton) *g.

Hollebeke Hollebeke is a Flemish village in the Belgian province of West Vlaanderen, now part of Ypres city. History In World War I, it was the site of allied heroism (like other neighbouring parts of Ypres, such as Klein Zillebeke) that won Khudadad Khan t ...

(municipality Ypres) *h.

Zillebeke Zillebeke (also known as Zellebeck) is a village in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. It is a former municipality which is now part of Ypres. History On 3 March 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms of the last Lords o ...

(municipality Ypres) *i.

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 co ...

(Ieper) (municipality Ypres) *j.

Langemark Langemark is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a subdivision of the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle. The village has about 5,000 inhabitants. Besides the village center, there are also three smaller hamlets on th ...

(municipality Langemark-Poelkapelle) *k.

Poelkapelle Langemark-Poelkapelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Geography Other places in the municipality include Bikschote, Langemark and Poelkapelle. On January 1, 2006, Langemark-Poelkapelle had a total populat ...

(municipality Langemark-Poelkapelle) *l.

Westrozebeke Westrozebeke is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. It is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Roeselare and 9.5 miles (15 km) north-east of Ypres. It's a typical agricultural village ...

(municipality Staden) *m.

Oostnieuwkerke Oostnieuwkerke is a Belgian village in the province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. There are more than 3400 inhabitants and Oostnieuwkerke lies closer to the town Roeselare than it is to the main village Staden. The l ...

(municipality Staden) *n.

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

(municipality Roeselare)

Gallery

File:Memorial Muse Passchendaele batiment.JPG, The

File:Photo from Memorial Museum Passchendaele.jpg, Memorial Museum Passchendaele, 1917 interior File:Zonnebeke - Buttes New British Cemetery 1.jpg, Memorial in the

Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke Polygon Wood ( nl, Polygoonbos, french: Bois du Polygone) is a forest located between Ypres and Zonnebeke, West Flanders, Belgium. It was the scene for several battles during the First World War and there are at least two cemeteries of the Commonw ...

File:William Orpen - Zonnebeke - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Zonnebeke'' (1918), painting by

William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...

, showing devastation after World War I

References

External links

* - Information available in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and limited information available in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...