Peace Village

The Peace Village, an international rural hostel, is situated in a unique rural surrounding, marqued by WOI. It's an excellent accommodation for youth and school groups, organisations, families, individual tourists, etc.

This is the place to be if you like an active holiday, to learn more about WOI, for a reunion with your organisation or family, or just to relax and enjoy the countryside.

As a 'Peace Centre' it also wants to offer accommodation for youngsters from conflict areas in Europe and beyond, come to Messines in the framework of peace-education and conflict resolution.

Accommodation Information

The facility includes 32 four bedded rooms of which 8 are wheelchair accessible. Each room is furnished with its own toilet and bathroom facilities. There is a maximum capacity of approximately 128 beds.

B&B, half- or full board is possible at a democratic prize. Meals have to be reserved in advance.

The centre has two meeting rooms (120 m2 + 25 m2), a part from two other meeting rooms in Messines that can be used. Groups that stay here for the night can use one of the meeting rooms for free.

In the evening you can have a drink in the bar.

Location Information

Comfort and atmosphere triumph in our " International Rural Hostel ". With a sumptuous breakfast and bright, restful rooms fitted with every comfort, you will be fully ready to go out and discover our historical and bustling area. In below a few tips to point you in the right direction.

Messines

Messines (locally called Mesen) was a City long before the French Revolution, but lost this title during the Dutch occupation. In 1985, the honourable title was reinstated, thus making Messines - with less than 1.000 inhabitants and a total surface of 900 acres - the smallest City of Belgium. In 1057 countess Adela of France founded a nun's abbey in Messines. In 1776 the Austrian empress Maria-Theresia erected a Royal Institution. During the First World War Messines was completely destroyed. It took years to rebuild Messines, but gives the town its now typical look.

Ypres

Ypres these days has the title of "city of peace" and maintains a close friendship with another town on which war had a profound impact: Hiroshima. The association may be regarded as somewhat gruesome due to the fact that both towns witnessed mankind at its worst: Ypres was one of the first places where chemical warfare was employed, while Hiroshima suffered the debut of nuclear warfare.

War graves, both of the Allied side and the Central Powers, cover the landscape around Ypres. The countryside around Ypres is featured in the famous poem by John McCrae, In Flanders Fields.

Poperinge is famous for its hops, beer and lace. During World War I, the town was used to billet British troops and also provided a safe area for field hospitals. These help to explain the location of a number of military cemeteries on the outskirts ofthe town.The charity Toc H was founded at Talbot House in Poperinge.

Within the town hall courtyard is an execution post.

In the South West of Belgium's North Sea province you discover Heuvelland with its superb views and its range of hills. The hilly area is known for its nature and peace.

The Lys (French) or Leie (Dutch) is a river in France and Belgium, left tributary of the Scheldt. Its source is in Pas-de-Calais, France, and it flows into the river Scheldt in Ghent, Belgium. Its total length is 202 km. Historically, the Lys valley was known for the spinning and weaving of flax. The region of the Leie (between Deinze and Ghent) used to be known as a favourite place for numerous painters in the first half of the twentieth century.

Belgian Coast
Life by the sea is something special. The air is pure, the whole year through there is a pleasant bustle and everybody has that holiday feeling. Everyone and everything is on the go.