Get ready to stomp on your pedals, because the Kemmelberg, with its 78 vertical metres and an average gradient of 10.4%, has been the decider in many a cycling race. The summit is at an altitude of 156 metres. It has been inhabited since the old stone age, and remnants of an entire Celtic settlement have been found there. The hill experienced its darkest days in 1918: at the Battle of Kemmelberg, 200,000 soldiers lost their lives. The angel of the ‘Monument aux Soldats Français’ looks down mournfully over the French mass grave where 5,294 soldiers rest. NATO built an underground command centre here, 15 metres deep, in 1953. But the real beauty here can be found above ground, with forests, wet meadows, vineyards, and castle parks. In the spring, the wild hyacinth colours the slopes in beautiful shades of blue.
