Ypres (Dutch: Ieper, both pronounced "eeper") is a friendly town of 35,000 inhabitants in Flanders endowed with wonderful architecture and a troubled past. Ypres is best known as the site of three major battles of the First World War, the most famous being the Battle of Passchendaele from July—November 1917. The many memorials and cemeteries of the fallen in and around Ypres draw thousands of visitors each year. The belfry of Ypres is a !(//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/WV-Unesco-icon- small.svg/15px-WV-Unesco-icon-small.svg.png) UNESCO World Heritage Site.