Croonaert Chapel Cemetery

Croonaert Chapel Cemetery is a small First World War military cemetery located between the villages of Wijtschate and Voormezele, roughly 6 kilometres south of the town centre of Ieper (Ypres) in Belgium's West Flanders province. Its name comes from a roadside shrine, Croonaert Chapel, that once stood on the road connecting Wytschaete and Voormezeele — long before the surrounding land became a battlefield, this was a modest local landmark, and today only its name survives, attached to the cemetery that now occupies the area.

Why was a cemetery established here?

Before the Battle of Messines in 1917, the ground where the cemetery now stands lay in no man's land, the contested strip separating Allied and German lines. Once the front shifted following the offensive, the site became usable for burying soldiers who had fallen in the surrounding fighting. The cemetery was started by the 19th Division's Burial Officer in June 1917 and remained in use until November of that year. Two further isolated burials were added later, in April 1918 and January 1919, after the main phase of fighting in the area had ended.

How many burials does the cemetery hold?

The cemetery contains 75 Commonwealth burials from the First World War. Seven of these graves belong to soldiers who could not be identified, meaning the burial location is known and marked, but the individual's identity was never established. Notably, immediately after the war the site also held 51 German graves dating from June 1917 — these were removed following the Armistice, in line with the broader practice of consolidating and separating military burial grounds across the region at the time.

Who designed the cemetery?

The cemetery's layout was designed by architect W. C. Von Berg, who worked on behalf of what is now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) — the organisation responsible for maintaining thousands of burial sites across Europe for service members who died during the First and Second World Wars.

What should visitors know before going?

Croonaert Chapel Cemetery sits within the wider network of war cemeteries and memorials scattered across the Ieper (Ypres) Salient, an area associated with prolonged and intense trench warfare during the First World War. Access to the cemetery itself is via a roughly 200-metre grassed path, which is unsuitable for vehicles — visitors need to cover this final stretch on foot. Despite this, the main entrance to the cemetery is wheelchair accessible, making the site reachable for a broader range of visitors once they arrive at the access path.

Frequently asked questions

Can Croonaert Chapel Cemetery be visited independently? Yes, the cemetery is open to the public year-round, as is the case with most CWGC-maintained cemeteries in the Flanders region.

How many unidentified graves are there at the cemetery? Seven of the 75 Commonwealth burials belong to soldiers whose identities could not be established.

Does the original Croonaert Chapel, which gave the cemetery its name, still stand? No — the roadside shrine that once stood on the Wytschaete–Voormezeele road no longer survives physically; only its name remains, carried on by the cemetery.

Is the cemetery wheelchair accessible? The main entrance allows wheelchair access, though reaching it requires covering a roughly 200-metre grassed path that is not suitable for vehicles.