Mesen (; french: Messines, , historically used in English) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

located in the Belgian province of

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. On January 1, 2006, Mesen had a total population of 988. The total area is 3.58 km² which gives a population density of 276 inhabitants per km². The municipality comprises only one main settlement, the town of Mesen proper. An

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

to the west of the main territory is surrounded by the municipalities of

Heuvelland Heuvelland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populated rur ...

and Comines-Warneton. MapMesen

Villages neighbouring the municipality: * a. Wijtschate (in the municipality of

) * b.

Warneton Warneton (; nl, Waasten) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Bounding communes and places *Warneton, Belgium (part of Comines-Warneton) * Comines, east *Quesnoy-sur-Deûle ...

(in the municipality of Comines-Warneton) * c. Ploegsteert (in the municipality of Comines-Warneton) Mesen is the smallest city in Belgium. It is a

municipality with language facilities There are 27 municipalities with language facilities ( nl, faciliteitengemeenten; french: communes à facilités; german: Fazilitäten-Gemeinden) in Belgium which must offer linguistic services to residents in Dutch, French, or German in additio ...

. Mesen is twinned with

Featherston Featherston is a surname of English origin, at least as old as the 12th century. The link with "Featherstone" is probably not traceable, but people researching both spellings (and others such as "de Fetherestanhalgh") contribute to the collection o ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in part due to the location of the New Zealand World War I Memorial, which has annual

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

commemorations on 25 April.

History

In 1062, Adela, wife of Baldwin the Pius, count of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, translated the bones of

Saint Sidronius Saint Sidronius (died ) was a Roman martyr. His life is confused with a French saint of the same name. His feast date is 8 September or 11 July. Church The village of Saint-Cydroine in the commune of Laroche-Saint-Cydroine near Sens in Yonne, Fra ...

from Rome to Messines. Three battles were fought over the town during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–1918): *

Battle of Messines (1914) The Battle of Messines was fought in October 1914 between the armies of the German Empire, German empire and British Empire, British empire and French Third Republic, France as part of the Race to the Sea, between the river Douve and the Comines ...

* Battle of Messines (1917) and Mines in the Battle of Messines *

Battle of the Lys (1918) The Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, was fought from 7 to 29 April 1918 and was part of the German spring offensive in Flanders during the First World War. It was originally planned by General Erich Ludendorff as O ...

Image:Kerktoren Mesen.JPG, Church tower from Mesen Image:Sint-Niklaaskerk.JPG, Sint-Niklaaskerk Image:MESSINES RIDGE BRITISH CEMETERY.JPG, Messines Ridge British Cemetery Image:Tower, Irish Peace Park, Mesen, Belgium.jpg, Tower,

Irish Peace Park The Island of Ireland Peace Park and its surrounding park ( ga, Páirc Síochána d'Oileán na hÉireann), also called the Irish Peace Park or Irish Peace Tower in Messines, near Ypres in Flanders, Belgium, is a war memorial to the soldiers of ...

in Mesen Image:IR Lübeck 029 – Meesen-Befehl.jpg, German Order for Mesen 7 April 1918

References

External links

*
Official website
- in {{Authority control Municipalities of West Flanders