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Ypres Salient

Early in the 12th century, Ypres rose to become one of the most  important cities of the county of Flanders. The city had already acquired a reputation for its cloth manufacturers and cloth traders. Ypres could be reached via the little river 'Ieperlee' and ,moreover, the city lay alongside the important trade route between Bruges and Lille (now in Northern France). In that same century the cloth exchange was created as well as the first cloth hall, the belfry and the cathedral. 

The 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century saw the city at the height of its political and economic power. Cloth from Ypres was exported everywhere in the then known world (even to Novgorod in Russia !). Because the local wool production did not meet the demands of the market, Ypres turned to England as its prime wool supplier. During this period the guilds and cloth traders held the most important position in the city. After Ghent and Bruges, Ypres had become the third most important city in the county, with about 40.000 inhabitants. 

 The 14th century was marked with a lot of political and social unrest and announced the end of Ypres' prosperity. An epidemic killed a large part of the population in 1316. After the battle at Kassel, many traders and business men left the city. Furthermore, in 1383 the English army (supported by the rival town of Ghent) destroyed the surroundings of Ypres. All of this led to a downfall of the cloth production and the entire economy of the city.

During the religious troubles in the 16th century the town was under an 8 month siege by the Duke of Parma. When the siege ended, Ypres was plundered and many inhabitants killed. In the 17th century Ypres was taken by the French. In order to better defend this strategic place, the architect Vauban, had large  defense walls built around the city. From 1559 to 1801 Ypres became an important religious center. One of the most important bishops was Jansenius (1585-1638) who laid the basis for the religious Jansenism movement with his book "Augustinus". After the 18th century Ypres had lost all its strategic and economic importance.

The town came again into the spotlights during the First World War. Ypres was situated right in the middle of the frontline between the Germans and the Allied troops. An almost complete destruction of the city was the result. After the war Ypres was beautifully rebuilt.

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