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 and
school for the
children of dead or
wounded military officers who had died or been
wounded at war. Girls learned how to teach or keep house, while the boys stayed
until they were 12 and then went on to a 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, and was wound down over a period until it finally closed
for good in 1972. Some of the Institutions 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.
More summaries about the Royal Institution