Great War Centenary Flanders Fields - tips for visually impaired visitors FLANDERSFIELDS1418.COM

Transcription

1 Great War Centenary Flanders Fields - tips for visually impaired visitors VISITFLANDERS FLANDERSFIELDS1418.COM

2

3 1 Introduction / p4 2 Southern Westhoek / p7 3 Northern Westhoek / p13 4 Events / p15 5 Transport / p16 6 Assistance / p18

4 04 1 INTRODUCTION Flanders Fields formed the dramatic backdrop for some of the bloodiest battles of the First World War for four long years. One hundred years after WW I broke out, the region s landscape still tells the story of the war. It is home to hundreds of monuments and cemeteries that hold great historical significance for people all over the world. Brochure Great War Centenary accessible to everyone During the commemoration of The Great War Centenary, tens of thousands of international visitors of all ages, some of whom will have some form of accessibility requirement, are expected to travel to the area. To this end, VISITFLANDERS strives for the integral accessibility of the activities commemorating WW I for the broadest possible public. In collaboration with Westkans the accessibility centre of West Flanders and the province of West Flanders, we realized the brochure Great War Centenary accessible to everyone. This brochure takes into account all aspects of an accessible stay: information and reception, accommodation, restaurants, cafés, great war sites, transportation, parking spaces, assistance and care, etc., Allthough most of the information is primarily intended for those with mobility problems, the brochure also reports on initiatives offering additional facilities for other forms of disabilities. Brochure Great War Centenary tips for visually impaired visitors This additional Great War Centenary tips for visually impaired visitors brochure was realized in order to give an overview of those museums, events and other places of interest that offer extra facilities for people with a visual impairment. Those facilities are being indicated by the following symbol:

5 Noordzee (North Sea) Zeebrugge NEDERLAND Duinkerke (Dunkirk) Calais Oostende (Ostend) Nieuwpoort Poperinge Diksmuide Flanders Fields Ieper (Ypres) Brugge (Bruges) Zonnebeke Gent (Ghent) VLAANDEREN (FLANDERS) BRUSSEL (BRUSSELS) Antwerpen (Antwerp) Mechelen Leuven Hasselt DEUTSCHLAND Lille FRANCE WALLONIE Whether a museum or another place of interest is accessible depends to a large extent on the person concerned. After all, each disability or limitation is different. We therefore also recommend that you always contact the venue concerned beforehand to get the information you need from your own perspective. Over the next few years, many events will take place in commemoration of the Great War. In this brochure, we list those events that are Intro ok, which means that they are putting measures in place to welcome visitors with physical or learning disabilities. To get the information you need from your own perspective, we recommend that you contact pieter.remmerie@intro-events.be. VISITFLANDERS provides free and independent travel information. Our website com/en > Accessibility provides you with accessibility information about accommodation, transportation, museums, attractions and travel organizations. You will also find holiday reports and tips from disabled travelers. 05

6 06 If you want to learn more about the WW I sites or the story behind the Great War Centenary -project, you can visit the website

7 2 SOUTHERN WESTHOEK A. Ypres WW I highlights In Flanders Fields museum Grote Markt 34, 8900 Ieper flandersfields@ieper.be The newly renovated In Flanders Fields Museum takes prime place as a must-see attraction in Ypres. A new permanent exhibition focuses on personal stories of ordinary people and establishes a link to the landscape of the First World War in West Flanders. The museum has doubled in size and now hosts a WW I knowledge centre. More than 2,000 original objects and documents are on display and visitors can follow four personal stories through interactive kiosks. New scenography highlights the most recent museum applications, including touch screens, interactive poppy bracelet, video projection and soundscapes. Everything contributes to a rich experience and submerses visitors in life on the front. In addition, visitors can now climb the bell tower for an extraordinary view of what was once a completely devastated region. Coming exhibitions: 07

8 08 Tactile surfaces are provided up to the desk for the blind and visually impaired. All of the museum texts are also available in large print at the desk. In 2016 the museum will also publish a Braille guide. At the market place (Grote Markt), in front of the Cloth Hall, you can find a bronze scale model to form an image of the historical building for yourself. Keep in mind that there s no alternative for the steps to get to the top of the bell tower. Menin Gate Meensestraat, 8900 Ieper neaoffice@cwgc.org soldiers of the Commonwealth countries (except New Zealand). The victims of the United Kingdom who fell after the 16th of August are mentioned by name on the Tyne Cot Memorial. Every evening at 8 pm, a deeply moving ceremony takes place under the vast arch of the Menin Gate: the traffic stops and buglers from the local fire brigade play The Last Post. The ceremony was begun in Sometimes the ceremony is attended by just few spectators, on more formal occasions hundreds can be present. Irrespective of numbers, the Last Post remains a unique and moving experience. On the ramparts next to the Menin Gate, blind and visually impaired people can touch the scale model, which is an exact replica of the monument. Other places of interest Provincial Domain De Palingbeek Palingbeekstraat, 8902 Ieper (Address visitor center: Vaartstraat 7, 8902 Zillebeke) bc.palingbeek@west-vlaanderen.be Extensive area for walking with lots of flora and fauna. The paths are easily accessible. A map that indicates the accessible pathways is available at the visitors centre or at the website. The Menin Gate is the most famous war memorial for missing persons of the Commonwealth of the First World War in Belgium. The gate, built in a classical style following a design of Sir Reginald Blomfield contains the names of 54,896 missing There is an ecologic farm where you can voluntarily help, and which is suitable for people with a learning or motor disability and for deaf, hearing impaired, blind and visually impaired participants. You can make reservations for this activity at the De Palingbeek visitor centre.

9 B. Poperinge WW I highlights Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Boescheepseweg 35, 8970 Poperinge lijssenthoek@poperinge.be Lijssenthoek was the site of the largest evacuation hospital along the Ypres Salient. Today, Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery bears witness to more than four years of warfare, with the graves of 10,784 soldiers. The Visitor Centre, situated next to the cemetery, offers information on this unique site, including details about the daily life in the hospital and the (re)creation of the cemetery. At the corner of the car park and the path to the visitor centre you will find a braille map of the site. There s another braille map of the visitor centre inside the building. 09

10 10 Talbot House Gasthuisstraat 43, 8970 Poperinge The most well-known soldier s club of the Great War has been renovated. The garden has already received a makeover and various rooms in the house have been restored, including the chapel, kitchen and hall. Besides a museum, Talbot House is still the Every Man s Club it has always been. Visitors can enjoy a cup of tea in the canteen or book a room and spend the night in its guest house! The 100th anniversary of Talbot House will be celebrated on 15 December A brand new tablet application has been developed that invites the visitor to follow a tour that consists of a certain number of hotspots throughout the house, the garden and the museum. Once a tour has been selected the tablet will automatically show the visitor the direction in which he or she should walk. Help may be useful. When the destination - in this case the first hotspot - is reached a story about that location will start to play. This story can contain video, a voice, a song, an image or even some text. The stairs to the 1st and 2nd floor at the Talbot House itself are quite steep. To reach the chapel, you have to climb some sort of a ladder.

11 11

12 12 C. Zonnebeke WW I highlights Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 Berten Pilstraat 5a, 8980 Zonnebeke toerisme@zonnebeke.be A section of the museum is dedicated to the Battle of Passendale, especially the contribution of soldiers from the various Commonwealth countries involved in the battle. The Remembrance Gallery,the last part of the museum extension, is dedicated to the remembrance of the many casualties who suffered and fought for Passendale. Next to the museum, the Passendale Memorial is a new park area devoted to the remembrance of the Great War which includes small, individual, poppygardens dedicated to various nations that were involved in the Battle of Passendale. Coming exhibitions: The museum stimulates all of your senses. Throughout the museum tour, you get to touch several objects and you can experience for example the odour of different types of gas. The museum focuses on the military history of the war, and in particular the Battle of Passendale. In 1917 the town of Passendale was the scene of some of the most dramatic events of the Great War. Almost half a million soldiers died, went missing or were seriously injured. Housed in a striking chateau, the museum in Zonnebeke focuses on the material aspects of the war, including uniforms, weaponry, engineered constructions and battlefield archaeology. Its reconstructed dug-out create a realistic sense of what life would have been like for soldiers working and living in the trenches.

13 3 NORTHERN WESTHOEK A. Diksmuide WW I highlights Yser Tower. Museum at the Yser IJzerdijk 49, 8600 Diksmuide info@ijzertoren.org The extensive renovation works on the Museum at the Yser were completed on 28 February This museum tells the story of the frontlines between Belgium and Germany during the First World War via the stories of soldiers, refugees and citizens on both sides of the front. The museum is not non-committal, but gives a very clear message: No More War! The museum also looks at the political consequences of this war that led to the Flanders fight for the emancipation. In addition to the overview of the former front at the Yser, you can climb up the 84 meter-high tower and enjoy a stunning panoramic view over Diksmuide and the Westhoek. Coming exhibitions: At the counter you can find a braille information panel and a scale model of the Yser Tower, the Pax Gate and the Crypt. A braille map of the site shows the positioning of these buildings. Both the introduction film of the museum as well as the audio tape in the crypt are available in 4 languages. 13

14 14 B. Veurne Experience center Free Fatherland, Living behind the Frontline Grote Markt Veurne Free Fatherland focuses not on the battlefield, but on the tiny, last bit of free Belgium that was left, called the Belgian Sector. This is where Albert I, King of the Belgians, succeeded in holding out against the German occupying forces. We experience the events behind the front, the daily life in this last unoccupied area and see a veritable melting pot of people, multiculturality before the term even existed. All of a sudden, Veurne and the surrounding area were populated not only with soldiers from all over the country and from other continents, but also with refugees, doctors and nurses. Free Fatherland tells this story using compelling scenography including both modern media and more conventional exhibition techniques. All texts in the museum are read in four languages.

15 4 EVENTS Menin Road (Open air exhibition) Where? N8 from Menen to Ieper When? 1 June - 30 September 2016 Learn more? toerisme@wervik.be The legendary Menin Road - Ypernstrasse, or the road Menen - Ieper, played a crucial role during the period For four years, Brits and Germans fought over the cities Menen and Ieper, without too much success. 15 renowned artists were given the assignment to represent their interpretation of the horrors on the road during the period through an artwork. In 2016 they will exhibit their artworks during the summer alongside or near the road. The artworks will become markers or beacons along the road. During the weekend of 3 and 4 September 2016 there will be a grand event on the road Menen-Ieper. On diverse locations alongside the road and near the artworks you will encounter an elaborate programme of music, literature, sculpture... On the road, movement, experience & encounters will be key. GoneWest In English, to go west is a euphemism for passing away, but the expression acquired another meaning during World War I. The Allied forces, who occupied the western part of the Western Front, literally brought their fallen and injured soldiers to the west. Furthermore, with the German invasion, the war moved from east to west throughout the whole country. GoneWest is therefore the name that was chosen for the artistic commemoration of the Great War in the province of West Flanders, and has begun in Learn more about the different events: Basic facilities at every GoneWest event: Assistance dogs are welcome Reserved parking in the area Adjusted toilet in the area Assistance is possible For the most recent information and concrete questions regarding extra facilities at a specific event, contact pieter.remmerie@intro-events.be. Pianofestival When? December 2015 Assistance dogs are welcome Reserved parking in the area Adjusted toilet in the area Assistance is possible For the most recent information and concrete questions regarding extra facilities at a specific event, contact pieter.remmerie@intro-events.be. Learn more? gonewest@west-vlaanderen.be From 16 to 20 December 2015 GoneWest organizes the Piano festival in Poperinge, with reference to the piano, the key musical instrument of the Talbot House during WW I. This 3-day festival offers a varied program, which includes various genres and renowned pianists will provide new creations related to the First World War, but local and amateur pianists will also have a stage. 15

16 16 5 ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORT Helpdesk The website Meer Mobiel (More Mobile) is an information platform for all means of transport for the less mobile. On this website Enter VZW gives an overview of the entire range of public and door-to-door transport available in Flanders. You can find out immediately who you should contact for your transport needs by entering a postcode and your personal situation. While the website is only available in Dutch, you can contact the service in case of questions: info@meermobiel.be By train assistance@nmbs.be Belgian Rail provides assistance when boarding or disembarking a train in 131 stations. Find out which stations offer (free) assistance: > Customer Service > Passengers with reduced mobility > Stations with assistance. Assistance must be reserved at least 24 hours in advance. Make your request for assistance via > Customer Service > Passengers with reduced mobility > Reserve your assistance or phone You can also download or request the brochure Guide for travellers with limited mobility, also available in Braille or audio CD. Get away with the buses and trams of De Lijn The Flemish transport company De Lijn is also concerned with accessibility. If you want to learn more about the accessibility policy of De Lijn, contact De Lijn: or go to the De Lijn website.

17 Browse and then park Finding a parking place in the Westhoek (or on the coast) is a lot easier using the website www. navigeerenparkeer.be (only available in Dutch). This gives you a handy list of the parking spaces reserved for people with a disability. You can zoom in on a map or aerial photo for each municipality until you are right over the parking place. You can even get the dimensions and a photo of each space so that you know whether it is entirely suitable to your needs. This site also gives you detailed instructions on how to locate the reserved parking places on your GPS device. First World War car routes in the Westhoek app Westtoer has developed the First World War car routes in the Westhoek application. The app takes the visitor along important sites where the First World War played out. The app is richly illustrated with numerous historic documents, photos and texts and introduces you to a number of figures that share their experiences. It is possible to follow several planned routes (such as the No Man s Land car route) or to compile your own route based on a list of personally selected points of interest. You can find the relevant accessibility information for each POI consulting the info symbol. The app is available free of charge from the App Store and on Google Play. More tips You will find more tips concerning accessible transport in the brochure Accessible transport in Flanders and Brussels from VISITFLANDERS. You can find the brochure on our website or request a printed copy. > Accessibility 17

18 18 6 ASSISTANCE If you need assistance during your holiday, you can contact VISITFLANDERS. We will try and help you find a solution. Assistance dogs Trained assistance dogs are welcome at every public spot, so they are also allowed in museums, public transport, hotels, shops, restaurants and cafes,... In Belgium, it is punishable if someone tries to interfere with these rights.

19 VISITFLANDERS Grasmarkt 61, 1000 Brussels September 2015 Editor: Peter De Wilde, VISITFLANDERS, Grasmarkt 61, 1000 Brussels Legal deposit: D/2015/5635/35/4 Copyright pictures: VISITFLANDERS, Milo-profi photography, Michael Depestele, Westtoer

20