Menena Gate

The Menen Gate is located in Ypres, Belgium. The city of Ypres, located in the north-west of Belgium, was one of the richest cities in medieval Europe. But since it was at the crossroads of trade routes, in order to protect the city, a gate was built in the eastern part of the city. They were called Menensky, because through them lay the road to the city of Menen.

During the First World War, Germany planned the occupation of Belgium, and Ypres became in the way of strategic plans. The first battles were fought east of the Menen Gate. Most of the troops defending the city were allies, mostly British. Almost throughout the war, the battles for Ypres did not subside. The Allied armies suffered numerical losses, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and officers died there, the remains of many of them were not found.

In 1921, Reginald Bloomfeed designed a monument to the fallen soldiers and officers, which opened on July 24, 1927. The monument was built with British funds and is an arch with a lion at the top. On the inner walls of the arch are fixed tablets with the names of the dead, whose bodies were not found.

At the opening ceremony of the monument, a popular song by the British army was played. Since then, a tradition has developed in Ypres - every day at 20 o'clock a trumpeter from the local fire brigade comes to the gate and executes a call-off.