Discover Koekelare

Koekelare combines a gently undulating landscape, with some markedly hilly areas, with protected buildings, museums and public art. When planning your stay, you can explore these different themes, from the topography and Koekelarebos to mills, literature and the history of the First World War.

Landscape and nature

Elevations range from around 5 metres above sea level in the transition zone to the coastal polders to around 45 metres in the southeast near Belhutte and Ruidenberg. Both places lie along the western steep edge of the Wijnendale Plateau. This range gives the landscape a tangible character: Koekelare is not just flat, but also has markedly hilly areas in places.

Koekelarebos provides a habitat for numerous plant and animal species, including species that are declining elsewhere in Flanders. This also makes the forest interesting to visitors who want to learn about nature and habitats. Its importance as a habitat is a distinct point of interest, alongside the town’s architectural and cultural heritage.

Architectural heritage and protected sites

The fieldstone tower of the Parochiekerk Sint-Gertrudis is the only surviving remnant of the church and also Koekelare’s oldest surviving building. Historic architectural ensembles are also protected around the market square: the entire area surrounding the two breweries and the brewery, as well as several houses on the west side of the market square, are protected as a village scene. These designations apply to different features of the townscape, not just to individual buildings.

The Lange Max site includes a restored bakehouse protected as cultural heritage. Lange-Maxdreef is also protected. It dates from the modern Flemish land-reclamation period and, with its regular pattern of avenues, bears witness to systematic land development. The bakehouse and avenue therefore represent two different aspects of cultural heritage: a restored building and a preserved landscape-design pattern.

Hovaeremolen is a stone grain and oil mill, protected as a monument since 1973. Its function as a grain and oil mill distinguishes it from a mere viewpoint or a standalone historic building. Visitors interested in mills will find a clearly defined historical and architectural point of interest here.

Art and museums

In Poëziestraat, on Noordomstraat, there are eight boulders featuring poems and a work of art. The names Achterberg, Baudelaire, Du Fu, Gezelle, Lorca, Petrarca and Shakespeare can be read on the rocks. The combination of poems, boulders and the named poets makes the street a distinctive way to experience art in Koekelare.

The Käthe Kollwitz Museum is dedicated to German artist Käthe Kollwitz, her son Peter and her work. A different historical focus awaits visitors at the Lange Max Museum, where they can learn all about the enormous gun that shelled Dunkirk and the German occupation of Koekelare during the First World War. The two museums focus on different themes: art and an artist’s life on the one hand, and the gun and the history of the occupation on the other.

The Fransmansmuseum tells the story of the thousands of men and women from Flanders who went to work in northern France until the 1960s, mainly in sugar beet cultivation. It adds the story of labour migration from Flanders to the themes of art and wartime history. Together, the museums offer several perspectives on people, life stories and historical experiences.

Routes and themed tours

The Lange Max site has its own walking trail, and numerous cycling routes also cross the site. The Budopad in Koekelare is an adventure trail through the arboretum. It is based on principles of Japanese martial arts, as well as balance, concentration, focus and physical movement. The two activities have different emphases: the walking trail and cycling routes take you across the site, while the Budopad focuses on movement and concentration.

The “Het Lint” experience tour passes through eleven locations connected to the First World War, from the German military cemetery in Vladslo to the Lange Max Museum. Its stops and endpoints set out the historical theme through a series of specific places. The tour thus complements a museum visit with a broader look at locations connected to the First World War.

Discover more destinations: Bovekerke, Oostrozebeke, Wingene, Nieuwpoort, Moorslede, Poperinge, Oostkamp, Blankenberge.

For the main travel overview: West Flanders.