De Ijzer toren, memorial and museum aan de ijzer

We will start with a little history lesson: after the end of the First World War, a group of Flemish front soldiers remained unhappy about the way they were treated at the front. This displeasure, combined with the will to honor their deceased fellow soldiers , resulted in a first IJzer pilgrimage in 1920 and in the Iron Tertiary: Never-More-War, God’s Peace and Self-Government, today relayed to Peace, Freedom and Tolerance. As a symbol for this, the first IJzer Tower was built in 1928 and stands on the banks of the river IJzer. The tower is a commemorative monument for the Flemish fallen of the First World War, but at the same time it is also a symbol of the desire for more political independence for Flanders. On the floor of the tower is the text “No more war, jamais de guerre, Nooit meer Oorlog, Nie wieder Krieg” On the top of the Tower the letters AVV and VVK form a cross. The letters stand for: Alles Voor Vlaanderen (All for Flanders), Vlaanderen Voor Kristus (Flanders for Christ). After an unsuccessful attempt on in 1945 to destroy the tower, the next attempt with dynamite in the night of 15 to 16 March 1946 was successful. They quickly buils a new tower only a few meters from the old location. The second tower is much bigger and taller as the first. With what remained of the destroyed tower the Pax Gate or Gate of Peace was built. The ruin of the old tower is carefully preserved as a permanent testimony. the path to the tower is made of smashed ‘heroes crosses”, those are the gravestones of fallen soldiers. The crypt contains the “Steen van Merkem”: an old village pump from the devastated front village Merkem, near Diksmuide, with the slogan ‘Here our blood, when our justice’ this expresses the dissatisfaction of the front soldiers and the Clock of Nele: the original clock of the first IJzertoren that was damaged in the explosion. If you want to visit the museum you have to climb the 462 steps of the tower. Over the 22 floors they tell the story about War, Peace and Flemish emancipation. Since 1998 it has been part of the Peace Museums network of the United Nations. One of the story’s that made a impression is about the Christmas peace agreement. At christma the soldiers of both sides came together to celebrate around a Christmas tree and gifts were exchanged . In some places they even had a football match in the no man’s land. This remarkable situation lasted for a few hours to even a few days. They even warned each other if an attack would come. When the military commanders visited to check on the progress of the war, the soldiers even shot over each others heads to make it believable because the commanders didn’t want the fighting to stop. The next day all the bodies that were still in the no man’s land were buried. One day a Bavarian commander with an English name: Major John William Anderson found a gold monstrance in the coal cellar of a field hospital and wished to return it to the Belgians. The transfer took place in 1914 on the frozen river. The monstrance is displayed at the museum.