Flanders

Flanders (Flemish: Vlaanderen) is the northern region of Belgium in which the predominant language is Flemish; the chief city is Antwerp; other major towns and cities include Bruges, Zeebrugge, Ostend, Ghent and Mechelen. The Belgian capital, Brussels, is a separate bi-lingual region which forms an enclave within Flanders. Southern Belgium is occupied by the French-speaking region of Wallonia.

Flanders was the scene of very heavy fighting between British/Canadian and German armies during the First World War, most notably during the three Battles of Ypres in 1914, 1915 and 1917. It was most memorably described by the Canadian war poet John McCrae (1872-1918) in 1915:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep,

though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

See also

• Netherlands
• Flemish Painting Schools

References

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