_On entering the town, skirt the +Wellington Hippodrome+, in front of
which_ portions of the old Wellington Fort _may still be seen at the
end of the Western Dike. In front of the terrace of the Royal Palace
Hôtel, on the dike, is_ the ="Gneisenau" Battery= armed with 4in. guns
_(photo above)_.
_Take Avenue des Courses to the =Chalet Royal=. Go round the latter by
Rue Courbe._
_Between Avenue des Courses and Rue Courbe opens out, on the right_,
the fine Avenue de la Reine, which connects the dike with the Grand
Parc Marie-Henriette _(see p. 67)_.
[Illustration: +The Sands and Chalet Royal, before the war+ _(Photo
Nels.)_]
[Illustration: +Ostend. The Sea Wall.+
_On the left:_ +The Kursaal+.
_On the right:_ +Concrete Shelter+
_Further on (to the left)_ +The Chalet Royal+
_In the background:_ +Mariakerke+.]
The Chalet Royal.
This _ensemble_ of light constructions occupies a fine dominating
position. Instead of levelling the dune, the side facing the sea was
consolidated with masonry-work.
The opposite side of the hill is laid out with terraced gardens,
through which winds the road leading to the Chalet. The latter
comprises two large pavilions connected by a central gallery.
In the large square, situated in the rear, were collected the bathing
cabins, in which refugees from all parts were sheltered during the
first months of the war.
_Take Rue Royale, Boulevard van Iseghem, then the road on the left
leading up to the dike, near the Kursaal. (Vehicular traffic on the
dike is prohibited from 9 a.m. till midnight.)_
The Sea Wall.
Here the dike is separated by some 150 yards from the line of the
dunes, being bounded on the west by the terrace of the Kursaal, on
the east by a _perré_, rounded off in front of the port jetties. The
effect of this bold promontory, which seems to defy the waves, is most
striking.
The eastern end, on which stands the old lighthouse (now a semaphore
station), was built at the beginning of the 19th century. It is now a
_promenade_ bordered with fine buildings, some eighty yards in length
by thirty in width. The masonry embankment rises thirty feet above the
foundations and is protected by four massive breakwaters.
At low water, only about 200 yards of the beach is uncovered, or about
half as much as at the Western Baths, where the shore forms an angle
immediately to the left.
In front stretches the New Western Dike, set further back than the old
one, and prolonged as far as Mariakerke. The sea-wall at Ostend has
thus a total length of 3½ kms.
The Sands.
Each summer, before the War, the +Western Beach+, with its vast expanse
of golden sands, its countless bathing-machines and coloured tents,
offered, in the bright sunshine and clear air, an extraordinarily
animated and gay scene.
The +Eastern Sands+, at the other end of the dike, in front of the
wooden pier, although less popular, were nevertheless crowded with
bathers during the season.
The Kursaal.
From 1831, when Ostend-Bains was "discovered", until 1875, the Kursaal
stood on the old brick-paved dike. It was a modest construction (now at
Malo-les-Bains) but had, till then, sufficed for the town's needs. In
1875, the new sumptuous Kursaal was begun on its present magnificent
site.
The building, designed by the architects Naert and Lauwereins, covers
with its grounds an area of about three acres. Originally, its
general aspect was somewhat bizarre, and reminded one of a gigantic
turtle basking in front of the sea. The alterations since carried
out at different times, particularly the ceramic ornamentation, has
considerably improved its original appearance.
Its curved façade follows that of the dike, the latter forming solid
foundations. The façade consists of a covered terrace, thirty feet
wide, extending round the central rotunda. The latter, elliptical in
shape, is 200 feet long, 120 feet wide and 75 feet high, and forms an
immense hall capable of holding some 5,000 people. Symphony concerts
are given there.
_Return by the path on the west side and take the broad Avenue Léopold,
opposite, ornamented with gardens, to =Leopold Park= (see plan, p. 60.)_
Leopold Park.
Leopold Park was laid out in former days on the site of the old
fortifications, near the Western Gate, the _glacis_ of the bastions
being used to break the monotony of the level ground.
_After visiting the park, return to Avenue Ch. Janssens, which
separates it from Boulevard Léopold, and take same on the left. In
Place Léopold, take Chaussée de Thourout, on the left, then Rue de
Leffingue as far as the entrance to the ="Tirpitz" Battery=, (photos
below and p. 64), situated on the right some few hundred yards outside
the town._
[Illustration: +The Tirpitz Battery, photographed from Allied
aeroplane, July 31, 1916+]
[Illustration: +General view of the powerful Tirpitz Battery.+
_The background:_ +Ostend.+
_Inset:_ +Breech of one of the Guns.+]
The Tirpitz Battery.
This powerful battery has four 11in. armour-protected guns, mounted
on circular tracks on hollow platforms of masonry about 46 feet in
diameter.
The shelters behind the guns were destroyed. The battery was protected
by trenches and barbed-wire entanglements.
On the left, facing the sea, are screens which masked the fire of the
guns from the land observation-posts. In front of the right-hand gun
was the post of commandment.
The guns of this battery were being built by Krupps in 1914, to the
order of the Belgian Government, for the forts of Antwerp.
_Return to the town by Rue de Leffingue, Rue du Chemin-de-fer, and Quai
du Châtelet; the latter skirts_ the 3rd and 2nd Commercial Docks _and
ends at Place Vanderzweep, near the station (see plan, p. 60_). _Cross
the bridge, on the left, between the 2nd and 1st Docks, then turn to
the right along Quai de l'Empereur._
_The Place du Commerce is next reached, at the end of which stands_ the
+Church of St. Peter and Paul+.
[Illustration: _+Dock No. 2, Church of St. Peter and Paul+ (left) and
the +Station+ (right.)_]
[Illustration: +Ostend. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.+]
The modern Church of St Peter and Paul stands on the site of a former
church of that name (1717) which was burnt down in 1896, with the
exception of the campanile still standing behind the new building.
At the foot of the new choir is an allegorical group in white marble
(by Fraikin), to the memory of Louis-Marie d'Orléans, first Queen of
the Belgians and wife of Léopold I, who died at Ostend in 1850.
_Opposite the church, facing the port, is_ the =Maritime Station=,
which suffered severely from the aerial bombardments.
The port of Ostend.
[Illustration: +The Maritime Station.+ (Ph. Nels).]
The port of Ostend dates back to the 15th century. In 1445,
Philippe-le-Bon authorised the inhabitants of the town to make an
opening in the dike, in order to construct a fishing harbour. The
latter was situated opposite the present port, i.e. to the west, near
Mariakerke. At the end of the following century it was moved eastwards,
the sea having opened up a passage on that side, in consequence of the
levelling of the dunes for the construction of the fortifications.
However, the maritime installations which, until the end of the last
century, formed the port of Ostend, dated from the time of the Emperor
Joseph II. They were completely transformed and considerably extended
in 1898-1914, the work being almost complete when the war broke out.
[Illustration: +Ostend. Place d'Armes and Hôtel-de-Ville+, _(Photo
Nels.)_]
The new vast outer-harbour communicates with the sea by means of a
wide channel enclosed between two open-work piers. The channel is also
connected by a powerful lock to an immense modern impounding-dock, over
200 acres in extent. The tide supplies the water necessary for flushing
the channel clear of sand.
The landing-stage of the Maritime Station borders on the outer harbour
where the boats plying daily between Ostend and Dover were moored.
Words cannot describe the scenes which took place here during the first
half of October 1914, after the fall of Antwerp. At the approach of the
German armies, panic-stricken crowds of refugees filled the stations
and their approaches to overflowing, in frantic endeavours to get on
board the ships that were to take them to Britain.
_Quai de l'Empereur is prolonged, beyond Place du Commerce, by Quai des
Pêcheurs which skirts the =Minque= (or +Fish Market+) and the =Bassin
des Pêcheurs=._
The Bassin des Pêcheurs (Fishing Dock) is connected with the
outer-harbour, which precedes the channel. Near by is the "=Minque="
(Fish-Market),--a circular building in which the fish is sold by
auction daily, the proceedings being announced by the ringing of a bell.
During the fine season the natives fish mainly along the English and
Dutch shores, but go as far as the entrance to the Channel in the
winter. Their boats are of the trawler type, fitted with conical
drag-nets, the mouths of which, thirty to forty feet wide, are kept
open by cross-stays. The nets are dragged along the bottom of the sea.
_Keeping along the dock-sides, the tourist next reaches the old
lighthouse at the end of the dike. Take Boulevard Van Iseghem on the
left, then Rue de Flandre on the left, in front of the theatre, leading
to the Place d'Armes, in which stands the =Hôtel-de-Ville= (see plan,
p. 60.)_
The Hôtel-de-Ville, built in 1711, and restored later, after
mutilation, occupies the whole of one side of the Place d'Armes, in the
centre of the old city. The long façade was flanked at either end by
high towers, only one of which remains.
_To leave Ostend, for the second day's itinerary
(Ostend-Zeebrugge-Bruges) take Rue de la Chapelle (continuation of Rue
de Flandre) in front of the Hôtel-de-Ville (See, p. 60.)_
_Second Day_
=Ostend Zeebrugge Bruges=
[Illustration: _Itinerary for the Second Day._]
_Leave Ostend by Rue de la Chapelle, which passes in front of the
Hôtel-de-Ville (pp. 60 and 66) and leads to Place Vanderzweep. In this
square, at the end opposite the Bassin du Commerce, take Avenue de Smet
de Naeyer, which leads to the =Parc Marie-Henriette=._
Situated south of the town, between the two railways ending at each of
the two stations, is Marie-Henriette Park, which owing to its great
size, numerous winding alleys, clusters of trees, and artificial
lakes with pleasure boats, was often deservedly called the "Bois de
Boulogne". The long Avenue de la Reine connects it directly with
the Western Dike; on the other hand, it borders on the new maritime
installations.
_Cross the two bridges over the lateral canal, then the railway and
maritime lock; take the first street on the left, which passes over the
Ghent-Ostend canal and the sluice-gates. Take Chaussée du Phare, on the
left, then the first street on the left, opposite Rue Mansveld, to the
=Oyster-Beds=._
[Illustration: +Ostend. The Monumental Bridge. Exit for Zeebrugge.+]
[Illustration: +Panorama of Ostend seen from the old lighthouse.+]
Ostend oysters, of world-wide repute among gourmets, are not natives
of these shores. Gathered from the rocks on the English and Brittany
coasts by the Ostend fishing-boats, they are fattened by a special
process in the Ostend oyster-beds. The latter, situated in the
lighthouse quarter communicate with the outer-harbour. They consist
of reservoirs divided into compartments with planks, in which the
sea-water, renewed every day, deposes its slimy sediment. During the
War, the oyster-beds were closed.
_Taking Chaussée du Phare again on the left (see plan, p. 60), the
tourist reaches the site on which_ the lighthouse used to stand, now a
heap of ruins.
Built in 1859, its round tower, 175 feet high, showed a fixed white
light. Behind is the old Napoleon Fort. Facing the lighthouse, at the
end of the sluice dock, stands the Powder Magazine, a kind of fort
where the Germans had two batteries.
_Tourists may go round the powder magazine by following the dike which
is terminated by the Eastern Wooden Pier._ It was at the end of the
latter that the British sank the "Vindictive" on May 11, 1918.
The Blocking of Ostend Port.
On April 21, the British Admiralty undertook to block up the ports of
Ostend and Zeebrugge.
[Illustration: +British Cruisers "Sirius" and "Brilliant" sunk to the
east of the wooden pier at Ostend, April 22, 1918.+]
Under the command of Commodore Hubert Lynes, the flotilla left Dover at
the same time as the one which was to block up Zeebrugge.
The Ostend flotilla was composed of the cruisers _Sirius_ and
_Brilliant_ (Commodore Godsal), loaded with concrete, which were to be
sunk at the entrance to the port. Destroyers, scouts and motor-boats
were to reconnoitre the way and pick up the crews of the blockading
ships. Lastly, smoke-boats provided a protecting screen of smoke, which
hid the flotilla's movements from the enemy.
When twelve miles from Ostend this flotilla parted company with that
bound for Zeebrugge.
The smoke screen hiding the _Sirius_ and _Brilliant_ was swept away
by a sudden veering of the wind. The enemy's gunfire had extinguished
the lights which were to guide the two cruisers, and the latter thus
ran past the Stroom Bank buoy which should have marked the entrance to
Ostend but which the Germans had displaced. They were therefore sunk to
the east of the stockade.
[Illustration: +The Vindictive+
_undergoing repairs after her return from Zeebrugge, previous to
leaving for Ostend where she was destined to finish her career._]
This operation having proved unsuccessful, it was decided to make a
further attempt, which was again entrusted to Commodore Lynes. This
time the blockading ship was the _Vindictive_ (Captain Godsal), and the
Air Service took part in the enterprise. On the night of May 9, the
weather being favorable, the _Vindictive_ steamed towards a limelight
placed by a motor-boat on the site of the Stroom Bank buoy.
[Illustration: +Napoleon Fort, and the road leading to the Hindenburg
Battery+ _(on the left.)_]
Two motor-scouts torpedoed both ends of the wooden piers, at which
signal the whole of the British artillery opened fire, and was
immediately answered by the German guns. A thick fog soon swallowed up
everything.
The _Vindictive_ had to be led by scouts and, notwithstanding the
death of her commander, and the numerous shells which hit the ship,
Lieutenant Crutchley was able to carry out the manœuvre, swing the
cruiser across the channel, and blow her up. The crew were picked up by
a scout, and the flotilla put back to Dover.
[Illustration: +The Hindenburg Battery, north-east of Ostend.+]
[Illustration: +Observation-Post of Coast Batteries.+
_Upper photo: General View of the Post._
_Near the skyline: one of the two British cruisers sunk during the
first attempt to bottle up Ostend Harbour._
_Middle photo: Exterior View of the Observation-Post._
_Lower photo: Interior View of the Observation-Post._]
[Illustration: _+By-road+ (see arrow) +leading to the Jacobinessen
Battery+._]
The Germans were eventually able to displace the _Vindictive_ and
partly free the passage.
_Return via Chaussée du Phare to Place de l'Ecluse, turn to the left
into Boulevard du Congo, which crosses the new eastern quarter of
Ostend (see plan, p. 60.)_
_Just outside the town, a short distance before reaching the "Hôpital"
(to the left of the road), turn to the left and skirt the left side of
the "Hôpital", as far as the ="Hindenburg" Battery=_, consisting of
four 11in. guns on semi-circular concrete platforms.
In front of this battery is the +Old Napoleon Fort+, which the Germans
turned into a Casino during the war. Some of their mural paintings may
still be seen in the rooms.
_Farther on, is_ the post of commandment of the "Hindenburg" Battery.
_Return to the road and continue in the direction of Blankenberghe._
_Beyond Milestone No. 6, which bears the inscription "Le Coq 5 km. 1",
there is_ an observation-post, _on the left_, with telemetric posts and
machine-gun shelters _(photos, p. 71)_.
On the coast, some distance ahead, may be seen one of the cruisers
which were to have blocked the port of Ostend.
[Illustration: +One of the Deutschland (Jacobinessen) Battery's Guns.+]
[Illustration: _+The "Deutschland" or "Jacobinessen" Battery+; One of
the guns, with shelter for the men and munitions. Below: 1. Breech of
the gun; 2. Electric gear for laying; 3. Munitions Shelter; 4. King
Albert and President Poincaré visiting the Battery._]
_On the road to Blankenberghe, at the point shown by an arrow in
the photo on p. 72, take the road on the right leading to the
="Deutschland" Battery=_, also known as the "Jacobinessen" Battery
_(photos, pp. 72 and 73)_.
This was the most powerful battery on the Belgian coast. Armed with
four 15in. guns, it was used to bombard Dunkirk.
Grouped in pairs, these naval guns, mounted on bridges, were installed
in concrete pits about seventy feet in diameter. The right-hand gun
only was protected with armour.
The gun laying was effected by means of electric motors. Near each gun
immense shelters of reinforced concrete were used to store the shells,
while the large shelter between the two groups was probably the post of
commandment.
Camouflaging of barbed-wire covered with branches of trees may still be
seen hanging above the battery.
The latter was protected by deep lines of barbed wire and infantry
defence-works.
_Return to the Blankenberghe road and pass through the village of =Le
Coq= (Flemish: de Haan.) On the top of the last turretted house on the
right, is_ an observation post, _and opposite, on the top of the dune_,
a searchlight. _On the dike are_ two 3in. anti-aircraft guns, _and in
the surroundings_, numerous shelters. _Further on, to the left, are_ a
lighthouse, _and on the high dune_, an observation-post. _Pass through
+Wenduyne+ (4½ kms.) arriving at the ="Herta" Battery=, on the left of
the road._ This battery comprises four 8in. guns. _A little further on
is the ="Hafen" Battery=_, comprising four 3½in. guns. _=Blankenberghe=
(4 kms.) is reached by going between the Fishing Dock and Impounding
Dock._
Blankenberghe was one of the most popular resorts on the Belgian coast.
_On the dike_, the Kursaal, erected in memory of Lieutenant Lippens and
Sergeant de Bruyne, both natives of Blankenberghe, who were killed in
the Congo in 1893, _and_ the Pier (Promenade) are of interest.
[Illustration: +The Kaiserin Battery, to the east of Blankenberghe.+
_In the background: The houses of Blankenberghe._]
_Follow Avenue Smet de Naeyer as far as the station, then turn left
along Rue de l'Eglise, to the steps leading up to the dike. If it is
not desired to visit the dike, turn to the right along Rue de l'Eglise
and Rue des Pierres, then follow Avenue Jules de Trooz, and turn left
along Avenue du Littoral. There are tram-lines along both avenues.
Tourists who go as far as the dike should take Rue du Casino (on the
right, at the top of Rue de l'Eglise), then Avenue Rogier which joins
up with Avenue du Littoral._
_Beyond Blankenherghe the road is bordered, on the left, with_
fortifications and batteries. _Follow it as far as =Zeebrugge-Plage=
(4½ kms.)_
The following batteries will be passed on the way:
The ="Kaiserin" Battery=, with four 6in. guns; the ="Mittel B"
Battery=, with four 4in. long guns on concrete platforms, adjusted
for firing against aircraft (this battery is on the top of the dune,
with shelters below); the ="Groden" Battery=, comprising four 11in.
howitzers.
Lastly, near the port of Zeebrugge, is the ="Zeppelin" Battery=, of
four 4in. guns. The entrance to it is situated a short distance before
reaching Zeebrugge-Plage.