Hekelgem is a village in the province Flemish Brabant, Belgium. In 1977 it merged with Essene and Teralfene to form the municipality of Affligem, of which it remains a section. The merged municipality is named after the historic Affligem Abbey in Hekelgem.
The oldest mentions of Hekelgem are as Hecelengim (1105), Eclegen (1119) and Heclengem (1148). [1] Historically it has often been referred to as Hekelghem.
The village was situated on the main road between Brussels and Ghent, and on the historical frontier between the Duchy of Brabant and the County of Flanders (now the provinces of Flemish Brabant and East Flanders).
In the later Middle Ages and through the Early Modern period the territory was partly subject to the lordship of Asse and partly to Affligem Abbey, with frequent disputes about their relative rights and privileges, particularly with regard to the woodland and heath surrounding the village. [1] In the year 1295, John II, Duke of Brabant, recognised that the abbey by immemorial custom had the right to appoint a board of seven aldermen; the lords of Asse appointed a mayor, who was denied any authority within (and sometimes even physical access to) the monastery. [1] The parish church, St Michael's church, was a dependency of the abbey: the monastery collected two-thirds of the tithes, leaving a third to support a curate. [1]
In 1525 there were 125 hearths in the village, but by 1686 only 76 households. [1] In the 1680s and 1690s, the village repeatedly suffered pillage and destruction during the French invasions of the Nine Years' War. [1]
On 23 December 1792, in the aftermath of the French revolutionary army's victory in the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November, the men of the village assembled and declared that they wished to remain Catholic and continue to live as a free people under the institutions of the Duchy of Brabant, rather than accept French rule. [2] Under French rule the village became a commune in the canton of Asse, as part of the Department of the Dyle. [3] There were at the time four breweries and two gin distilleries in the village. [3]
In 1846 the territory of the commune of Hekelgem was 809 hectares: 312 ha planted with cereal crops, 94 ha with industrial crops (such as flax and colza), 141 ha with beets and fodder, 81 ha of meadow, 5 ha of orchards, 7 ha of gardens, 46 ha of woodland, and 6 ha of heath and uncultivated land. The population was 2,021, in 375 households, of whom 513 were school-aged children and 276 on public relief. [1]
Brabant is a traditional geographical region in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to:
John I, also called John the Victorious was Duke of Brabant (1267–1294), Lothier and Limburg (1288–1294). During the 13th century, John I was venerated as a folk hero. He has been painted as the perfect model of a brave, adventurous and chivalrous feudal prince.
Jette is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Asse and Wemmel. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
Affligem is a municipality located some 20 km (12 mi) west-north-west of Brussels in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, not far from the city of Aalst and the important railway junction of Denderleeuw. Affligem is situated in the Pajottenland.
Asse is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. It comprises the towns of Asse proper, Bekkerzeel, Kobbegem, Mollem, Relegem and Zellik. Asse is also situated in the Pajottenland. As of 2020, Asse had a total population of 32,958. The total area is 49.64 km2 which gives a population density of circa 660 inhabitants per km2.
Wemmel is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Wemmel proper. On January 1, 2018, Wemmel had a total population of 16,347. The total area is 8.74 km2 (3.37 sq mi), which gives a population density of 1,870/km2 (4,800/sq mi).
Dyle was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium. It was named after the river Dyle (Dijle), which flows through the department. Its territory corresponded more or less with that of the Belgian province of Brabant, now divided into Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and the Brussels-Capital Region. It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège were officially annexed by the French Republic. Before the annexation, its territory was partly in the Duchy of Brabant, partly in the County of Hainaut, and partly in some smaller territories.
Godfrey I, called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the Landgrave of Brabant, Count of Brussels and Leuven (Louvain) from 1095 to his death and Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1106 to 1129. He was also Margrave of Antwerp from 1106 to his death.
Affligem Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in the historic village of Hekelgem, now in the municipality of Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, 19 km (12 mi) to the north-west of Brussels. Dedicated in 1086, it was the most important monastery in the Duchy of Brabant and therefore often called Primaria Brabantiae.
The Duchy of Brabant, a state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1482, until it was partitioned after the Dutch revolt of 1566–1648.
Averbode Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey situated in Averbode, in the municipality Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, in the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels in Belgium. It was founded about 1134, suppressed in 1797, and reestablished in 1834. Throughout the 20th century the abbey press was a leading children's publisher in Belgium. The church's building is a peculiar synthesis of Baroque and Gothic, with Renaissance ornament details, dominating the monastery complex. The whole structure was built of iron sandstone from Langdorp and white sandstone from Gobertange between 1664 and 1672, after a design by the Antwerp architect Jan Van den Eynde II.
Teralfene is a village in the municipality of Affligem, Belgium. It has an area of 244 ha. The other communities in Affligem are Hekelgem and Essene.
The partition of Belgium is a hypothetical situation, which has been discussed by both Belgian and international media, envisioning a split of Belgium along linguistic divisions, with the Flemish Community (Flanders) and the French-speaking Community (Wallonia) becoming independent states. Alternatively, it is hypothesized that Flanders could join the Netherlands and Wallonia could join France or Luxembourg.
Jan van Cleve (III) or Jan van Cleef (III) (6 January 1646 – 18 December 1716) was a Dutch-born Flemish painter who is known for his altarpieces, allegorical pictures and mythological scenes. He worked in Brussels at the beginning of his career and later moved to Ghent.
Mazenzele is a Flemish village in the Belgian province Flemish Brabant and also a borough of the community Opwijk in the canton of Asse and the district Halle-Vilvoorde. Mazenzele is situated at 20 km from Brussels in the Pajottenland region. Mazenzele originated in the Frankish period as a settlement around an open village fallow.
Groot-Bijgaarden is a village and deelgemeente in the municipality of Dilbeek, a suburb of Brussels, in Flanders, Belgium.
Jan Baptist Christyn the Elder or Joannes Baptista Christyn the Elder, 1st baron of Meerbeek, was a jurist, a diplomat in the Spanish Netherlands, and Chancellor of Brabant from 1687 to 1690. He was regarded as the Flemish authority on all matters relating to the aristocracy.
The pagus of Brabant was a geographical region in the early Middle Ages, located in what is now Belgium. It was the first region known to have been called Brabant, and it included the modern capital of Belgium, Brussels. It was divided between the neighbouring counties of Flanders, Hainaut and Louvain (Leuven) in the eleventh century. It was the eastern part, which went to the Counts of Louvain, which kept the name in use, becoming the primary name of their much larger lordship. This led to other regions later being named Brabant - in particular, the French and Dutch-speaking areas east of the Dyle, including Leuven and Wavre, which are still known as "Brabant"; and secondly the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.
The Church of St Michael in Hekelgem, Belgium, is a historic parish church that is listed as protected built heritage. The church was perhaps initially attached to the local lordship, but from 1105 to 1796 was a dependency of Affligem Abbey. It became the church of a distinct parish in the 13th century. In the 21st century the parish became part of "Pastoral zone Meander".