The lions of the Menenpoort - Yper - Belgium
Posted by: superstein
N 50° 51.122 E 002° 53.490
31U E 492362 N 5633375
Two lions at the entrance of the MeninGate
Waymark Code: WM16EBW
Location: Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Date Posted: 07/13/2022
Views: 1
The two stone lions holding the shield of Ypres and standing at the stairs of the cloth halls since 1822 were placed here after the demolition of the Menin Gate in 1862
During the First World War the walls and the lions were severely damaged. After the war, the Menin Gate (Memorial Menin Gate) was built between the two walls, the remains of the lions were donated to the Australian city of Canberra in 1936.
On April 24, 2017 at 8 pm a special Last Post and a ceremony for the temporary return of the Lions was held at the Menin Gate. The lions were temporarily visiting but after their departure the current replicas arrived which were officially inaugurated on November 5, 2018.
The replicas weigh around 1,200 kg each. Monument Vandekerckhove from Ingelmunster has made the replicas. In a first phase, the lions were carved from large stone blocks on the basis of 3D scans of the originals with a 3D milling machine. They were then manually finished by stone hairdressers. Then the traditional Last Post ceremony took place with the reburial of 2 Australian soldiers from the First World War.
Physical Address: Menenstraat 8900 Ieper België
Web Site: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Take a photo of the lion.