Peace Monument Lede

On November 2, 2024, a Peace Monument was unveiled in Lede.
Two years ago, the NSB took the initiative to place peace monuments in collaboration with cities, villages, institutions both in Belgium and abroad with the intention of promoting the idea of peace as widely as possible. At the same time, the memory of the fallen in both world wars will not be lost.

The Peace Monument is located in the park of Mesen next to the ruins of the former Marquisate. The symbolic dove of peace was placed on the memorial for the fraternization with the West Flemish Mesen, the smallest city in Belgium.

The ties with Mesen go back to 1919.
The abbey of Mesen was the location of the Royal Institute of Mesen, a foundation established by Empress Maria-Theresia of Austria by letters patent dated August 30, 1776. A boarding school was located in the abbey. When the First World War broke out, they fled to France where they stayed for almost four years at the "Collège pour jeunes filles" in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
During the German invasion in August 1914, the abbey in Mesen was completely destroyed.
After the war, it was decided not to rebuild but to buy a domain with existing school buildings in Lede (until 1917, education was provided at this location by the canonesses of St. Augustine of Jupille).
In 1919, it became a boarding school in Lede for orphans of war victims and children of disabled soldiers.
After a few years, the original social objective had been surpassed and by royal decree of 16 September 1969, the educational institution was closed down.
The stately buildings were not given a new purpose and decay set in.
Today, only the ruins of the marquisate and the park remain of the Marquisate site. The large complex with, among other things, the school buildings was finally demolished in 2010 after years of decay.
The Royal Institute of Mesen has disappeared in Lede, but the ties of friendship with Mesen remain.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck