Langemark | |
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— Deelgemeente — | |
Coordinates: | |
Country | Belgium |
Province | West Flanders |
Municipality | Langemark-Poelkapelle |
Area | |
• Total | 31.67 km2 (12.2 sq mi) |
Population (1999) | |
• Total | 5,084 |
Source: NIS | |
Postal code | 8920 |
Langemark is a village in the Belgian province of West-Flanders, and a "deelgemeente" of the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle. The village has about 5000 inhabitants. Besides the village center, there are also two smaller hamlets on the territory, Madonna and Sint-Juliaan.
Written as Langemarck on French and British maps, the village is known in military history as the scene of the first gas attacks by the German army, which marked the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. The village was completely destroyed during World War I. There is now a major German war cemetery, the Langemark German war cemetery, (Soldatenfriedhof) in this location which has about 40,000 burials.