War, Heritage, Tourism, and the Centenary of the Great War in Flanders and Belgium

This chapter focuses on the centenary of the First World War, its planning andpotential effects on battlefield tourism in Belgium, especially in the northwestWesthoek (“west corner” or “west hook”) region known in Commonwealth Coun-tries as Flanders Fields. This region experienced major battles in 1914, 1915,1917, and 1918 (Figure 20.1; Bauwens 2008; de Vos 2003). These arose fromthe Westhoek’s strategic location as the northern anchor of the Allied line block-ing German advances into France from the east through neutral Belgium. Theregion was also of symbolic importance because Ieper (Dutch; French: Ypres)and its small surrounding territory (the Ypres Salient) were, by late 1914, at theedge of the last unoccupied area of Belgium, the neutral nation whose invasion byGermany in August had sparked the war along the western front. Figure 20.1 The Western Front, 1914–1918, stretching across Belgium and France. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203107706/3606bd2c-6556-491f-a04a-af6603feba17/content/fig20_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: (from de Vos 2003: 91).