Hill 60 (Ypres)

Hill 60

Deep mine crater, Hill 60
Coordinates	50°49′27″N 02°55′48″E / 50.82417°N 2.93000°E / 50.82417; 2.93000
Location	Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium
Type	war memorial site
Dedicated to	British and German dead of the First World War
administered by the Municipality of Ieper and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Hill 60 is a World War I battlefield memorial site and park in the Zwarteleen area of Zillebeke south of Ypres, Belgium. It is located about 4.6 kilometres (2.9 mi) from the centre of Ypres and directly on the railway line to Comines. Before World War I the hill was known locally as Côte des Amants (French for Lover's Knoll). The site comprises two areas of raised land separated by the railway line; the northern area was known by soldiers as Hill 60 while the southern part was known as The Caterpillar.

The high ground of Hill 60, south of Zillebeke, was created in the 1850s by spoil dumped from the cutting for the railway line between Ypres and Comines. The line opened in March 1854 and formed part of the La Madeleine–Comines railway from the French Nord-Pas-de-Calais region into Belgian Flanders.

The earth excavated during the building of the railway was dumped on either side of the embankment and formed hillocks. On the west side, a long irregular mound atop the ridge was called The Caterpillar and a smaller mound 300 yards (270 m) down the slope towards Zillebeke, was known as The Dump. On the east side of the cutting, at the highest point of the ridge, was a third mound known as Hill 60, about 60 feet (18 m) above sea level, from which First World War artillery observers had an excellent view of the ground around Zillebeke and Ypres. Artillery-fire and mine explosions during the war changed the shape of the hill and flattened it considerably. Today the peak of Hill 60 is only about 4 metres (13 ft) higher than the vicinity.

The ground south of Zillebeke rises for about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) to a ridge between Zwarteleen and Zandvoorde. Roads run north-west to south-east through the area, from Ypres to Verbrandenmoelen and Hollebeke as well as from Zillebeke to Zwartelen and Zandvoorde. The Ypres–Comines railway ran roughly parallel to the roads from Ypres and 600 yards (550 m) outside Zillebeke, was a cutting 15–20 feet (4.6–6.1 m) deep, which extended beyond the crest of the ridge, the earth from which had formed Hill 60. Some 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) further south is The Bluff and some 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) south-west is St. Eloi.