Bombkapelleke

About

The Bombkapelleke is a chapel in the Kapellestraat in the Belgian village of Koolkamp.

History: The chapel was built there in 1913 by the Declercq family after fate favored them and their eldest son did not have to fulfill his service. During World War II, on 20 June 1944, 72 people held a prayer stand around the chapel. At the same time, Koolkamp was bombed by the Allies. The twelve bombers dropped about 500 bombs in and around Koolkamp. One of them ended up on the gravel road in front of the chapel, just a few meters away. As a miracle, the bomb didn't explode, it tore it open. No one was killed or injured, which was considered a miracle. Since then the Sacred Heart Chapel is better known as the "bombkapelleke." Today, the chapel bears the traces of the miraculous event in 1944. In the chapel hangs the torn bomb and one finds a short text on which the miracle is described. There is also a photo and list of names of the 72 survivors of the bombing. On the street in front of the chapel is the place where the bomb fell marked with a mark.