Ypres (/ˈiːprə/; ; Dutch: Ieper, ) is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. Though Ieper is the Dutch and local name, Ypres is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they count some 34,900 inhabitants.
During World War I, Ypres was the centre of intense and sustained battles between the German and the Allied forces. During the war, due to it being hard to pronounce in English, British troops nicknamed the city "Wipers".
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Famous quotes containing the word ypres:
“A good wif was ther ofbiside bathe,
But she was somde, deef, and that was scathe.
Of clooth makyng the hadde swich an haunt,
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)