The Battle of Passchendaele was initiated by British troops on 31 July 1917. During the preparatory artillery phase of two weeks, no fewer than 4.2 million projectiles were fired. The battlefield was thus transformed into a quagmire. The Battle of Passchendaele was a true bloodshed estimated to have cost more than 450,000 casualties for a movement of the frontline of only eight kilometres. The battle soon took on mythical proportions and still has a significant symbolic value today.

Every year, the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 organises a museum weekend with WWI Living History. Because of the UK remembrance ceremony on 31 July, in 2017 the museum weekend exceptionally takes place in July. The focus lies on Living History which gives the visitors a sense of stepping back in time. More than 400 WWI reenactors from both home and abroad spend the weekend at the Zonnebeke chateau grounds. Next to encampments, weapons and historic objects, the reenactors also give demonstrations.






































































































































































































































































































































  Page made by Willy Roets.