The monument was erected in 1938 after a design of Julien de Ridder and honours both King Albert I of Belgium and the Belgian troops at the time of the First World War.

On the central square of the monument, there is an equestrian statue of King Albert I, designed by Karel Aubroeck.

The renewed Westfront Nieuwpoort was visited by heads of state and government on 28 October, including Belgian King Philippe and German chancellor Angela Merkel.

A permanent exhibition illustrates the inundation of the Yser plain in 1914 by opening the sluices at the Ganzepoot.

The monumental panoramic painting "Panorama of the Battle of the Yser in October 1914" by Alfred Bastien is shown in a downsized, digitised format.