Brazil
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
French Guiana
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Germany
Austria
Croatia
Denmark
Spain
Finland
France
Greece
the Netherlands
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
Poland
Portugal
the United Kingdom
the Czech Republic
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
the United States
Mexico
the Dominican Republic
South Africa
Australia
Fiji
Cemetery · Ypres, West Flanders
Tyne Cot Cemetery
The largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world, near Passendale, with nearly 12,000 graves and a wall bearing the names of around 35,000 missing.
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Discover
About Tyne Cot Cemetery
Tyne Cot Cemetery lies on a gentle slope near Passendale, in the municipality of Zonnebeke, about ten kilometres from Ypres. With 11,965 graves, it is the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world. More than 8,000 of those buried were never identified and their headstones bear only the inscription "known unto God".
The design is by architect Sir Herbert Baker. The Cross of Sacrifice in the centre was erected over a former German concrete dugout at the suggestion of King George V, and other dugouts lie within the cemetery. From the top of the cross you can see, in the distance, the tower of Ypres.
At the far end, the curved wall of the Tyne Cot Memorial bears the names of about 34,000 United Kingdom soldiers and more than one thousand New Zealanders missing on the salient from August 1917 onwards. Those missing from earlier years are commemorated on the Menenpoort.
Next to the car park there is a visitors' centre with information about the Battle of Passchendaele. Walking in silence among the white rows is the hardest part of a day's visit to the front.
Before you go
Practical information
Cidade Turismo reviews its information regularly, but something may have changed. Check with the place before planning your trip.
How much time to set aside
From forty-five minutes to an hour, including the visitors' centre.
Best time
Late afternoon, with low light over the headstones and fewer groups. Avoid midday in summer when many tour buses arrive.
How to get there
It is located in the fields between Zonnebeke and Passendale. By car, about twenty minutes from Ypres via Zonnebeke. From the Passchendaele Museum you can cycle there via the signposted routes.
Tip
Walk up to the Cross of Sacrifice and look west: the tower of the Sint-Maartenskathedraal in Ypres shows how close the battle's objective was.
Get your questions answered
Frequently asked questions about Tyne Cot Cemetery
Why is the cemetery called Tyne Cot?
The name comes from soldiers from Northumberland, in the River Tyne region of England, who called a cluster of houses and shelters on the hillside by that name. The name stuck to the cemetery.
What is the difference between the Tyne Cot memorial and the Menenpoort?
Both list soldiers with no known grave. The Menin Gate commemorates the missing up to August 1917; the Tyne Cot wall lists those from the United Kingdom and New Zealand who went missing after that date.
Can you get to Tyne Cot by public transport?
There are buses to Zonnebeke and Passendale, but they are infrequent. Car, bicycle or a tour from Ypres work better.