The Town
With a population of less than 1,000 and an area of just 900 hectares, the small town of Messines in West Flanders, close to the French border, is not only the smallest council region in Belgium, it is also an "honorary city".
Messines in French and Mesen in Flemish (Dutch), the town can trace its city status back beyond the French Revolution. In those days much of what is today Belgium was part of France. But when the Dutch invaded, city status was lost and Messines did not recover its honorary title until 1985.
A bilingual town
Messines today is a small dormitory town with many residents commuting to work in Ypres or Brussels. It has no industry and the major economic activity in the surrounding area is farming. The Mayor cheerfully admits to having the highest local taxes in Belgium but is working hard to bring these down, mainly by increasing visitor numbers.
The town is also administratively bilingual - French and Dutch - as its western edges border Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.
Messines' history is a rich one and reaches back to the early Middle Ages. And despite its position on what is today a minor road leading to the border town of Armentières, Messines was once on an important trade route.
Adele of France
Prior to the 11th century little is known about Messines although it seems likely that its name derives from Manechinos, a Germanic-Roman family believed to have lived beside a leading trade route close to where the town is today.
In 1057 Countess Adele of France established a convent and the Church of St Nicholas on the site of the town and Messines began to grow. Adele was the daughter of King Robert "the Pious" of France. She married twice and one of her children with her first husband, the Count of Flanders, was named Matilde. Matilde married William the Conqueror and ultimately became Queen of England. Adele died in Messines in 1079 and was buried in the crypt of the church, the same crypt in which Adolph Hitler was treated for minor wounds early in the war.
Royal Institution
The convent continued to flourish and, with many of the abbesses and nuns from noble families, had no shortage of funding or land.
In 1776 Empress Maria-Theresa of Austria changed the convent into a Royal Institution, an orphanage for the children of dead or wounded military officers. Girls learned how to teach or keep house, while the boys stayed until they were 12 and then went on to Military School.
The First World War saw the town completely destroyed and afterwards the slow process of rebuilding began. The Royal Institution's school moved to the town of Lede in East Flanders where, after a long winding down period, it finally closed in 1972.
Some of the Institution's treasures have since been returned to the town and the Royal Institution of Messines continues to exist as a commission that provides grants to the children of soldiers who have been killed or disabled.
Twinned with Featherston
In 1975 Messines was twinned with Featherston in the Wairarapa, home to a large World War One military training camp. Since the twinning there has been close contact between the two towns and in November 2005 a New Zealand Weekend at Messines marked the 30th anniversary. The area in front of the church is named Featherston Square and features a large stone map of New Zealand laid into the footpath with Featherston marked by a metal disc. The street leading from the Armentières road to the New Zealand Memorial is named New Zealanders Street.
Anzac Day Services
The New Zealand Anzac Day service in Belgium is traditionally held at Messines. A number of New Zealanders attend and in recent years the Embassy has provided a coach from Brussels. The town's volunteer fire brigade leads the march followed by a brass band, the Ambassador and the Mayor.
Starting outside the Town Hall (right), the march visits the Messines Ridge cemetery and New Zealand Memorial to the Missing, moving on to the New Zealand Memorial further along the ridge and then back to the Belgian Memorial in the centre. Many of the town's people hang New Zealand and Belgian flags from upstairs windows to mark the day.
There is a small museum in the Town Hall with much of New Zealand interest on display.