Village

Following on from the successes of the Island of Ireland Peace Park and the International School for Peace Studies projects Glen Barr met with the then Belgian Minister for Tourism, Minister Landuyt, to consider building a hostel in Messines.

The idea progressed from the original 72 bed hostel idea into a 128 bed "Peace Village"  costing of €7.5 million and funded entirely by the Belgian government.

Located only 10 kms from the larger City of Ieper (Ypres) and only 6 kms from the French border, construction commenced in the autumn of 2003 and took eighteen months to complete.

The Peace Village was officially opened on the 7th June 2006 by David Hanson MP Minister of State at the NIO, Dermot Ahern TD Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Ireland and Geert Bourgeois Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Flemish Government.

Facilities comprise of 128 excellent bed spaces spread over twenty-four rooms, with a range of support amenities including superb conference rooms, 2 games rooms, huge outdoor play space and large dining and entertainment facilities.

Although the management of the Village now lies with Stad Mesen it is still part of the Messines vision and provides excellent accommodation for the many national and international visitors to the area.