Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater
Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater
Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
29 reviews
Excellent
12
Very good
12
Average
4
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Bigb67Scotland
Edinburgh, UK2,292 contributions
Nov 2014 • Couples
This historic place is just down the road from the Bayernwald German trench system at Heuvelland , and is really quite easy to find to be honest. And one only has to watch the old black & white newsreels of the time and this is the one we all remember seeing going up. Which was the biggest man made explosion ever heard prior to the A-Bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and was felt as far away as London and Dublin, and was also supposed to be the big breakthrough for the allies on the Messine ridge.? The history of the tunnelling by the British here is also truly remarkable when you consider the distance they actually tunnelled and even avoided counter tunnelling by the Germans, and still managed to plant enough Ammonal explosive to send thousands of young Germans to their deaths. The other sad part is the Irish lads awaiting in their trenches opposite, went over the top 19 seconds too early causing many of them to be caught out in the open when the mine went off, which also explains the small cemetery next to the farm across the road, as these young lads were hit by tonnes of debris falling down.
When you do walk up to this now peaceful crater, the first thing that hits you is how nature has woven her magic and covered up this horrific assault, and replaced it with a tranquil setting. Which simply put, is now a mass aquatic graveyard, and is hard to imagine the horror of this taking place 100 yrs ago, it was so sudden they even found a German bunker nearby with three soldiers still sitting in their chairs complete with cups of coffee, dead from the massive concussion of the explosion.!
There's also not much to do or really see here, and the best thing is quiet simple reflection, and just remember what happened and be very grateful you weren't part of this unfortunate generation who were simply just cannon fodder..Even sadder the allies couldn't hold this Messine high ground and were later simply pushed back to where they originally started from, making all this human sacrifice totally unjustified...!
When you do walk up to this now peaceful crater, the first thing that hits you is how nature has woven her magic and covered up this horrific assault, and replaced it with a tranquil setting. Which simply put, is now a mass aquatic graveyard, and is hard to imagine the horror of this taking place 100 yrs ago, it was so sudden they even found a German bunker nearby with three soldiers still sitting in their chairs complete with cups of coffee, dead from the massive concussion of the explosion.!
There's also not much to do or really see here, and the best thing is quiet simple reflection, and just remember what happened and be very grateful you weren't part of this unfortunate generation who were simply just cannon fodder..Even sadder the allies couldn't hold this Messine high ground and were later simply pushed back to where they originally started from, making all this human sacrifice totally unjustified...!
Written March 16, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelforfun35
Brighton, UK51 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
Amazing area to visit. First we saw a large crater (Peckham Farm crater) in a farm, which wasn't suitable for stopping at, but we could see it next to the road. Then we visited the small cemetery just up the road, down a track (walking), a little gated cemetery with just 60 graves and a memorial, then we turned round and took a couple of left turns which took us to the Pool of Peace at Spanbroekmolenkrater. This is a beautiful lake formed from a huge crater caused by underground mining by the Allies which caused explosions to be heard 10km away at the time. It is a beautiful peaceful place now. A lovely living memorial.
Written July 28, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
peter n
40 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
Great place to sit and take in the happenings here and to realise that this peaceful place is a horrific scene and a memorial to those who were and are no more. Take a few minutes to let your imagination
take you where ever it does.
take you where ever it does.
Written July 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sybil Fawlty
Buckingham, UK666 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
In some ways this does not look as menacing as the Lochnagar Crater outside La Boiselle on the Somme because it is full of water. It is known as the Pool of Peace as a memorial to those who died in the hope that it will prevent this ever happening again.
The scale of the engineering by the British was immense. They started the tunnels to place the charge on the 1st January 1916 and finished them by the 1st July 1916 (The day that Lochnagar blew up). The tunnels were then maintained until 7th June 1917 when this mine and 18 others were triggered to start the attack on Messines Ridge.
The scale of the engineering by the British was immense. They started the tunnels to place the charge on the 1st January 1916 and finished them by the 1st July 1916 (The day that Lochnagar blew up). The tunnels were then maintained until 7th June 1917 when this mine and 18 others were triggered to start the attack on Messines Ridge.
Written June 24, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KMLondon22
London, UK207 contributions
Apr 2019 • Solo
As others have said this is now a very tranquil spot. The size of the crater though, and power of the explosives that created it, is fairly breathtaking. In the woods at the back of the crater are some remnants of the concrete German bunkers that were blown to smithereens during the Allied advance. Looking at the view across the road from the front entrance, you get a good idea of the strategic importance of the Messines Ridge to both sides of the conflict.
Written April 16, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HAPPYHIKER27
Merriott, UK162 contributions
Jul 2018 • Solo
This crater is off the beaten track and is right next to a small cemetery. It's a peaceful and tranquil place and makes for an interesting visit.
Written August 3, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LynsFrostee
London, UK551 contributions
Sept 2017 • Friends
This site is a bit off the beaten track but people said it was worth the trip so we headed out here to see it for ourselves. Its the site of a mine explosion but you cant really tell any longer as it just looks like a lovely pond/lake. In a way I think that takes away from the poignancy of the site.
We took a quick look and left. It didn't do much for me to be honest. Lovely that they made the explosion site in to a nice pond but not much to see other than....well the pond. A better site is the mine explosion site the Caterpillar near Hill 60 as that is very obviously an explosion site and so is moving in its size and obvious destructive force.
We took a quick look and left. It didn't do much for me to be honest. Lovely that they made the explosion site in to a nice pond but not much to see other than....well the pond. A better site is the mine explosion site the Caterpillar near Hill 60 as that is very obviously an explosion site and so is moving in its size and obvious destructive force.
Written October 8, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sco
Aberdeen, UK4,097 contributions
Sept 2017 • Friends
A large group of us visited this intriguing historical WW1 site. When you read or hear of what happened at this location, see the physical remaining evidence of the power used to create such a crater, walk around the circumference, it's thought provoking. Heard as far away as London when it went off. We sat around the crater / pond and had our packed lunch. Peace and tranquility now compared to 100 years ago.
A small grave yard is a short walk away from here too.
A small grave yard is a short walk away from here too.
Written September 23, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MrsKBatley_WestYorks
Batley, West Yorks221 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
This is tucked away in he Belgium countryside but is well worth a visit, even if it's just to appreciate the sheer size of the thing.
It is also next to the Lone street cemetery which is a small but beautiful place.
It is also next to the Lone street cemetery which is a small but beautiful place.
Written August 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ludo001
Tongeren, Belgium439 contributions
Jul 2017 • Couples
This place, summum of world war 1 horror, is the result of an explosion on june 7th 1917, explosion heard till London with countless deaths. Now, on a nice summer day, the view is a postcard, very peacefull place exept for all those graveyards around.
Written July 13, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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