This cemetery has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since September 2023.
Cemetery description
The German war cemetery is located in the province of West Flanders. Since October 2023, it has been one of 24 World Heritage Sites managed by the War Graves Commission. The coastal town of Ostend is about 20 kilometers away. The name books are available in the entrance building. The names of the fallen are also inscribed on horizontal granite slabs. From the entrance you can see the entire length of the park-like grounds.
Occupancy
Four major battles raged in Flanders during the First World War. The Vladslo cemetery was laid out by German troops during the war. More than 25,600 fallen soldiers are buried here.
History
In order to permanently preserve the many war graves in the northern part of the province of West Flanders, smaller and remote cemeteries were closed from 1956 onwards and the dead were reburied in Vladslo. Other German military cemeteries in West Flanders are Langemark, Menen and Hooglede.
the war cemetery was completely renovated in 2015. Half of the costs were covered by the Flemish government. Paths and squares were renovated and the gravestones were relaid. The vegetation areas were given a drainage system. The entrance building was also repaired.
Special feature
The artist Käthe Kollwitz dedicated the sculpture "Mourning Parents" to her son Peter, who died in Flanders in October 1914. The two figures, made of Belgian granite, are kneeling on stone plinths. They bear the facial features of the artist and her husband Karl.
The son was initially buried at the German military cemetery in Esen-Roggeveld, where the two statues originally stood. in 1956, he was transferred to the Vladslo war cemetery. A full-scale replica of the sculpture has stood at the German war cemetery in Rzhev, Russia, since September 2014. Käthe Kollwitz' grandson is buried there. He was also called Peter and died as a soldier in the Second World War.
In September 2023, UNESCO declared 139 First World War cemeteries as World Heritage Sites. 24 German cemeteries are in the care of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. - Vladslo is one of them.
