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Zonnebeke (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgium province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population of 11,758. The total area is 67.57 km2 which gives a population density of 174 inhabitants per km2.
Situated in the centre of the Ypres Salient, World War I destroyed the whole area. Left abandoned until the early 1920s, people slowly returned and rebuilt the villages. In 1932, the locals opened a cheese making facility, which to this day is the only source of Passendale cheese. Deoudekaasmakerij.be
Another battle during World War II during the Allied advance across Europe, where Passendale was used in a defensive operations by the , did little damage.
Today, Zonnebeke has returned to its long-time balance between agriculture, small business and work in the neighbouring towns. Its major industry is the brickworks in the village of Zonnebeke itself, which extracts the local blue clay.
About 180 dugout sites have been located in the Ypres Salient and in the 1990s some of them were entered, at least in part. Activities of The Diggers - Restoration of the Yorkshire Trench & Dug-out, access date 10 July 2015
In 1983, the -built Bremen Redoubt was discovered at the rear of the Zonnebeke brickworks. Opened to the public until 1998, it is believed that its eventual collapse was due to drying support timbers.
During archaeological excavations of the Augustinian abbey, another dugout was discovered under Zonnebeke church. Today the outline of this dugout is marked in an archaeological garden within the church grounds, and a model of the church dugout can be seen at the "Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917" in Zonnebeke. Zonnebeke Church Dugout wordt niet toegankelijk voor publiek, 04/11/2010, access date 9 July 2015
On February 21, 1998, a farmer's wife disappeared into the ground while washing the windows. Beecham dugout was subsequently discovered less than from Tyne Cot Cemetery.
It was made public in spring 2006 that the brickworks had received a licence for the extension of its blue-clay extraction zone. The Association for Battlefield Archaeology and Conservation, using maps compiled of 350 underground structures under the management of Belgian archaeologist Johan Vandewalle and British TV producer Peter Barton, showed that at least one structure was near to the proposed development zone, believed to be the Vampire dugout, which had been rediscovered in 2007. Following discussion with local preservation, historic, council and state officials, the ABAC was allowed to start a scientific research project. They engaged the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University to provide archaeological support (in light of the residence of the Highland Light Infantry).
The municipality of Zonnebeke borders the following towns and municipalities:
==Gallery==
Towns
The municipality comprises the villages of Zonnebeke proper, , , Passendale and Zandvoorde. All are "", meaning they were independent municipalities before the merger in the 1970s.
4.472 2.684 1.553 3.152 521
See also
, showing devastation after World War I]]
External links
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