Liberation Garden

Leopoldsburg, city of our first king

Half an hour's drive from the Luysmolen holiday home in Bocholt lies the garrison town of Leopoldsburg. It grew after Belgium became an independent state. As a buffer against the then hostile Netherlands, Leopold I, the first king of Belgium, had an extensive military base built in the north of the country. The new village was named Leopoldsburg. Since then, this municipality has had a rich history.

Liberation Garden

The relatively new museum “Liberation Garden” paints a picture of the origins of this army base and then goes on to describe its use during both world wars in detail. The museum takes you back to the beginning of World War II, when the camp was used by the German occupiers as a training centre for the German navy and the infamous 12th Panzer Division of the Waffen SS, which made life difficult for the Allies in Normandy and the Ardennes. You will gain an insight into the lives of the political prisoners, Allied pilots, resistance fighters and others who were imprisoned here by the Germans. Liberation Garden paints a picture of the increasingly grim atmosphere in the camp as the war progresses and the bombings intensify.

Base for Operation Market Garden

In the second part, we see the camp's contribution to the Allied operation “Market Garden” as a logistical and medical centre.

Operation Market Garden was an Allied offensive against Nazi Germany in September 1944. The operation aimed to capture a number of strategic bridges in the Netherlands in order to advance into Germany and bring the war to a swift end.

Historical figures tell their stories

You are guided through the museum by historical figures who experienced all this and survived the war. The end of the exhibition focuses on the numerous war cemeteries in the north of Limburg. It is a unique experience to spend four minutes in an improvised shelter where flashes of light and sound effects simulate a bombing raid. The most remarkable experience, in our opinion, is crossing the Rhine in a Spitfire aircraft through 3D glasses while sitting in a kind of hanging chair.

Also for children

Children can experience the museum in their own way with a specially adapted audio game. If you want to experience this museum to the full, be sure to allow half a day. In many ways, the museum is similar to the war museum about the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne.