The Belgian city of Ypres is an ancient town which is located in the Flemish Westhoek or the Belgian Province of West Flanders. This historic city which is also known as Ieper in the Dutch language was an important city for cloth production and cloth trading during the Middle Ages.
Apart from the cloth trade, Ypres is also well known as a locale where many of the fierce battles during the First World War were fought. These battles in fact completed flattened the city though today Ypres has been totally rebuilt in a manner so as to reflect its medieval heritage. However it has several historic sites like the Menin Gate which bear testimony to its violent past. The Menin Gate is a memorial which was built to honor the several hundred British and Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives at the battles of Ypres Salient during the First World War.
However, the historic city Ypres is known not only for its legacy of the First World War but it is also renowned for a unique event that is held every three years during the second week of May. This event which celebrates all things feline is known as ‘Kattenstoet’ and this year this purr and fur extravaganza which includes the famous cat parade is to be celebrated on Sunday the 10th of May.
History and Origin of Kattenstoet
Felines have been revered in several parts of the world through the ages especially in ancient Egypt, India and China where cats were regarded as highly prized rodent catchers. When the domestic cat was introduced in Europe by the Romans in the 11th century, they were equally well regarded and coveted as pets. It was no different in the city of Ypres where a giant statue of a cat was erected at the spot where the Cloth Hall in the town center is located today for cats were used to kill the mice which attacked the bales of cloth that were stored in the Cloth Hall.
However all this changed with the spread of Christianity in Europe in the 12th century as the Pope Gregory IX declared the cat to be a ‘diabolical creature’ who was believed to be an agent of the devil. This declaration led to the widespread decimation of cat population as cats were then tortured, starved and killed. The people of Ypres also behaved in a similar fashion and they began host a cat festival called Cat Wednesday which was typically held after the Ash Wednesday fair during which the town jester used to hurl live cats from high towers in an effort to exorcise the demons that were associated with these animals. This horrific and cruel practice continued until 1817 when it was finally banned.
This festival was once again revived in 1938 in Ypres but this time around it was velvet cats that were chucked from the top of the 230 meter Cloth Tower Belfry. The celebration of the cat festival was halted during the tumultuous years of the Second World War but it picked up once again in 1946 and in 1955 the famous Cat Parade of the Kattenstoet was added to the event. The Cat Parade grew in stature over the years as the town of Ypres celebrated all things feline every year in the second week of May and the event became a triennial event in 1991.
Events of the Festival
All of Ypres comes out to celebrate the festival of Kattenstoet during which store fronts are decorated with images of cats as is the Cloth Hall from where the stuffed cats are thrown at the end of the Cat parade. The stores in Ypres are also filled with all sorts of cat memorabilia for the event which also features mock cat and dog fights and and the consumption of much Belgian beer and traditional folk music and dance. Several face painting stalls are also erected all over the city where revelers can get their faces painted to look like cats in order to participate in the festivities.
However the highlight of the festival is the Cat Parade which is usually held in the afternoon and which typically chronicles the history of these felines through the ages. The parade usually features towering likenesses of some famous cats like Cieper and his wife Minneke Poes and their kitten Piepertje as well as the world’s most famous tabby cat,Garfield. Marching bands, flag bearers and many other kinds of cats from all over the world are also showcased during the parade. This Cat Parade is followed by the flinging of stuffed toy cats from the top of the belfry of the Cloth Hall, These cat themed festivities usually terminate with a rousing fireworks display.
Tickets for this fascinating event are currently available from the Ypres Tourist Office which is located at theGrote Market. Tickets for the Grand Stand at the Market Square which have already sold out this year are priced at € 20 per head but you need not despair as tickets are still available for the Station and the Leopold III Laan locations and these are priced at € 14. For more information about tickets and best viewing locations for the parade do visit the Ypres tourist office website. Also if you are planning to travel to Ypres for this strange festival and are looking for accommodation options in Ypres you might want to try the Novotel Ieper Centrum hotel which is conveniently located in the heart of the city as it offers you easy access to the many events of this fabulous Cat festival.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 12th, 2009 at 1:03 am and is filed under Europe, Strange. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 16th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I really like the cat festival, can I bring my dog? Maybe they can work in a side tent for dogs as well!
July 30th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Seems like the perfect place for those who share a passion about cats.