Ieper / Ypres, Belgium - Lille Gate - postcard 1980s commem stamp

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Ieper / Ypres - West Flanders, Belgium
• Publisher:  Cypra
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  Belgium Belgica 'Journey of the Stamp' commemorative 1982 (SG2739)
• Postmark(s):  Ieper 1984 cds
• Sent to:  Tarleton, nr Preston forwarded to Islington, London
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

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Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Ypres (/'i?pr?/; French pronunciation: ?[ip?]; Dutch: Ieper, pronounced ['ip?r]) is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. Though Ieper is the Dutch and only official name, the French Ypres is most commonly used in English for its role in World War I, when Belgian maps still named Flemish cities only by their French names. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they count some 34,900 inhabitants.

During World War I, Ypres was the centre of intense and sustained battles between the German and the Allied forces. During the war, because it was hard to pronounce in English, British troops nicknamed the city ""Wipers"".

Ypres is an ancient town, known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC.^[2]

During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous Flemish city with a population of 40,000,^[3] renowned for its linen trade with England, which was mentioned in the Canterbury Tales.

As the third largest city in the County of Flanders (after Ghent and Bruges) Ypres played an important role in the history of the textile industry. Textiles from Ypres could be found on the markets of Novgorod in Russia in the early 12th century. In 1241 a major fire ruined much of the old city. The powerful city was involved in important treaties and battles, including the Battle of the Golden Spurs, the Battle at Pevelenberg, The Peace of Melun and the Battle of Cassel.

The famous Cloth Hall was built in the thirteenth century. Also during this time cats, then the symbol of the devil and witchcraft, were thrown off Cloth Hall, possibly because of the belief that this would get rid of evil demons. Today, this act is commemorated with a triennial Cat Parade through town.

After the destruction of Thérouanne, Ypres became the seat of the new Diocese of Ypres in 1561, and Saint Martin's Church was elevated to cathedral.

During the Norwich Crusade, led by the English bishop Henry le Despenser, Ypres was besieged from May to August 1383, until French relief forces arrived. On 25 March 1678 Ypres was conquered by the forces of Louis XIV of France. It remained French under the treaty of Nijmwegen and Vauban constructed his typical fortifications, that can still be seen today. In 1697, after the Treaty of Ryswick, Ypres was returned to the Spanish Crown.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, the Duke of Marlborough in 1709 intended to capture Ypres, at the time a major French fortress, but changed his mind owing to the long time and effort it had taken him to capture Tournai and apprehension of disease spreading in his army in the poorly drained land around Ypres (see Battle of Malplaquet). In 1713 it was handed over to the Habsburgs, and became part of the Austrian Netherlands.

In 1782 the Austrian emperor Joseph II ordered parts of the walls torn down, making it easy for the French to take over the city in 1794 during the War of the First Coalition.

Ypres had long been fortified to keep out invaders. Parts of the early ramparts, dating from 1385, still survive near the Rijselpoort (Lille Gate). Over time, the earthworks were replaced by sturdier masonry and earth structures and a partial moat. Ypres was further fortified in the 17th and 18th centuries while under the occupation of the Habsburgs and the French. Major works were completed at the end of the 17th century by the French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban.

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: rest of the world

sub-theme=europe

county/ country=belgium

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=posted