The unique 1950 Ijzertoren is built of drab, purple-brown brick and topped with power station–style windows. This colossal 84m-high ‘peace’ tower is at once crushingly ugly and fascinating. It’s set behind the shattered ruins of a 1930 original, whose mysterious sabotage in 1946 remains controversial. The tower is probably Flanders’ foremost nationalist symbol.
Its 22 floors house a very expansive museum related to WWI and Flemish emancipation. There's no fee if you just want to walk up to the tower's base, starting through a WWI style sandbag passage and crossing an over-pond passerelle.
