Having just visited my 150th cemetery/memorial site in just over 3 years, I thought it might be interesting to look at the overall numbers of where I’ve been and what I’ve seen. Just sorting through the numbers have given me a few surprises – I didn’t realise Continue reading “Cemetery Roundup 2015-2018”
How many cemeteries have their own castle? Schoonselhof does, although it was initially a country pleasure house (and still looks that way, if not worse for wear). Between 1540 and 1871 it had 20 owners, but when the last died a bachelor, the city eventually bought it with intent of making it a municipal cemetery. Continue reading “Site 96: Antwerp’s Schoonselhof Cemetery”
The biggest Commonwealth cemetery in the world. During our tour of the Ypres battlefields, we weren’t quite circling around it, but everywhere we went we could see it in the distance. The cemeteries and other sites we visited were leading up to this one, following the history of the war, from the first two battles of Ypres, to the final battles at Passchendaele. Continue reading “Site 95: Tyne Cot Cemetery”
There are always at least two sides in every war, but one thing that is common to both is having to deal with the dead. Cemeteries and other mass graves spring up out of a matter of necessity. In my previous post I mentioned how many small cemeteries I saw from the train window as we approached Ieper, I did not mention how all of them were from the Allied Continue reading “Site 94: Langemark German War Cemetery”
Sitting on the train from Kortrijk, the flat Belgian countryside rolls by much like any other. But the small military cemeteries, easily spotted with their white, uniform headstones, are what quickly jolts you into reality that this is the place where upon countless numbers of people were killed, Continue reading “Site 93: Ypres’ Essex Farm Cemetery”
Wow, is this a beautiful cemetery. This is the one that was on my list from the very beginning, I’ve been wanting to come to Belgium to photograph this cemetery for sometime. I knew I was off to a good start when, the moment I entered, I Continue reading “Site 90: Brussels’ Laeken Cemetery”
This cemetery was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t even on my initial list of cemeteries to visit in Belgium, but it turned out to be one of the best (so far). If Ghent has a Pere Lachaise-like Cemetery, this is it. It’s a fairly large cemetery, but it’s easy to get around and explore. It was established as a landscape garden cemetery, so it is a really nice place to wander and walk around. Continue reading “Site 89: Ghent’s Western Cemetery”
stone and dust 