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 de ...

and

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

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 and

Comines-Warneton Comines-Warneton (; nl, Komen-Waasten, ; pcd, Comène-Warneuton; vls, Koomn-Woastn; wa, Cômene-Varneton) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, it had a total population of 17 ...

Villages neighbouring the municipality: * a. Wijtschate (in the municipality of Heuvelland) * b. Warneton (in the municipality of

) * c. Ploegsteert (in the municipality of

) Mesen is the smallest city in Belgium. It is a municipality with language facilities. Mesen is twinned with Featherston in

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

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

, translated the bones of Saint Sidronius 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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(1914–1918): * Battle of Messines (1914) *

Battle of Messines (1917) The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of Messines (now Mesen) in West Flanders, Belgium, during the First World War. The Nivell ...

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 Messines Ridge British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the World War I, First World War located in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front. History The town of ...

Image:Tower, Irish Peace Park, Mesen, Belgium.jpg, Tower, Irish Peace Park 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