Flanders Fields 2026: Preserving Memory, Understanding Europe’s Path to Peace

On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, students of the Johannes Gutenberg Promotion, together with participants in the European Union Diplomatic Academy and the European Union Diplomatic Programme for the Enlargement Region, took part in the College of Europe’s annual study trip to the historic First World War battlefields of Flanders Fields, in the Ypres region.

A long-standing tradition at the College, the visit offers each new cohort the opportunity to encounter the history of the First World War directly in the places where it unfolded.

More than a historical visit, the day invites students to reflect on the human consequences of conflict, the importance of remembrance and the legacy of the events that shaped Europe’s later pursuit of peace, cooperation and integration.

Throughout the day, participants had the chance to visit several key sites of remembrance, including Hill 60, Caterpillar Crater, the trenches of Bayernwald and Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world.

The study trip concluded in Ypres with the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial. Organised by the Last Post Association, this daily act of remembrance has taken place since 2 July 1928. Every evening at 20:00, buglers sound the Last Post beneath the Menin Gate in memory of those who fought and died in the Ypres Salient during the First World War.

During this year’s ceremony, three College of Europe students, Thomas DAHNER, Henry PRAUM, and Tibor SPERL, laid a wreath on behalf of the College community, paying tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in the Ypres Salient.

The wreath-laying brought the day to a particularly meaningful close. By confronting Europe’s past first-hand, students are encouraged to reflect on European integration as a peace project and on the responsibility of each generation to preserve historical memory and carry its lessons forward.

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