The Hooglede German war cemetery lies six kilometres northwest of Roeselare, in the village of Hooglede. It contains the graves of 8,247 German soldiers who died on this part of the Western Front during the First World War. The aesthetic is deliberately sombre: flat dark basalt stones and black iron crosses mark the graves, in marked contrast to the white marble headstones of the Allied cemeteries nearby.
The cemetery is maintained by the German War Graves Commission and is open and free at all times. The Roeselare area saw fierce fighting during the war — the town itself was destroyed — and several Allied cemeteries and memorials are within easy driving distance. The contrast between the German and Allied cemetery designs reflects both different traditions of commemoration and the political constraints imposed on Germany after the war.