After a thorough restoration the iconic Menin Gate in the West Flemish town of Ieper has been officially inaugurated. The restoration started 2 years ago and was completed at the end of April. The ceremony took place in the presence of Flemish Heritage Minister Ben Weyts (Flemish nationalist N-VA), Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken (Flemish nationalist N-VA), Britain’s Princess Royal (the Princess Anne) and Belgium’s Princess Claire, who is of British heritage. The memorial commemorates over 54,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who went missing during World War I and who have no known grave.
The Menin Gate has been an international symbol of remembrance since 1927. Every evening at 8pm, the “Last Post” resounds, a tribute to the soldiers killed during the Great War. The restoration of the Menin Gate began in 2023, ahead of the monument's centenary in 2027.
The restoration involved repairing the pointing, re-waterproofing the roof and cleaning the name panels. The concrete vaults and ceilings were repainted and asbestos was removed. The total cost of the works was €6 million.
Flanders invested €1.6 million in the project, the city of Ieper €300,000. The remaining costs were borne by the six member states of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Opening of special tearoom
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission also opened a tearoom in the visitor centre. Proceeds from the refreshments in the tearoom go towards the maintenance of memorial sites, as well as peace education projects.
‘When you order a tea, you also get an envelope with a note telling the story of a fallen soldier,’ says the visitor centre’s Nathalie Dumon. ‘In this way, we make sure that the stories of all the people who died here are not lost.’