Dilbeek

Dilbeek
Municipality

De Viron Castle, serving as town hall

Flag
Coat of arms
Dilbeek

Location in Belgium

Coordinates: 50°51′N 04°16′E / 50.850°N 4.267°E / 50.850; 4.267Coordinates: 50°51′N 04°16′E / 50.850°N 4.267°E / 50.850; 4.267
Country Belgium
Community Flemish Community
Region Flemish Region
Province Flemish Brabant
Arrondissement Halle-Vilvoorde
Government
 • Mayor Willy Segers
(N-VA)
 • Governing party/ies LvB-Open Vld,
CD&V/N-VA/DNA!
Area
 • Total 41.18 km2 (15.90 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)[1]
 • Total 41,450
 • Density 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Postal codes 1700–1703
Area codes 02
Website www.dilbeek.be

Dilbeek (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɪlbeːk]) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Dilbeek proper, Groot-Bijgaarden, Itterbeek (with Sint-Anna-Pede), Schepdaal (with Sint-Gertrudis-Pede), Sint-Martens-Bodegem, and Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle. Dilbeek is located just outside the Brussels-Capital Region, in the Pajottenland, hence the local name Poort van het Pajottenland (Gate to the Pajottenland). Even though Dilbeek is located in the Dutch language area of Belgium, there is a French-speaking minority represented by 4 members (5 in 2000) on the 33-seat local council.[2] It is a mostly residential community with largely preserved rural areas and some industrial zones.

History

Medieval origins

The life of Saint Alena, the 7th-century martyr daughter of a lord of Dilbeek, was set in Dilbeek and Forest (Vorst). The historical facts of her life, however, are disputed.[3] In Carolingian times, Dilbeek and its neighbouring villages were part of the pagus Bracbatensis. This territory, ruled by the Lords of Aa in Anderlecht, was integrated into the Landgraviate of Brabant by the counts of Leuven around 1085. The first mention of the name Dedelbeccha dates from 1075, while the name Bigardis, later transformed into Groot-Bijgaarden (in French Grand Bigard), dates from 1110. Bigardis was originally a dependency of the Abbey of Saint Bavo in Ghent, but by 1125, nuns under the leadership of Saint Wivina had founded a religious community there. Around 1183, the landgraviate became the Duchy of Brabant, within which Dilbeek remained as an independent parish until the French Revolution.

16th century until now

The area's parishes belonged to the see of Cambrai until 1559, when they were placed under the administration of the Archbishop of Mechelen. Also in the 16th century, Dilbeek, Itterbeek and Sint-Martens-Bodegem were placed under the local rule of the Lords of Gaasbeek. The following decades were marked by the wars that opposed Catholics and Protestants, which resulted in the ruin of the Abbey of Groot-Bijgaarden. The final dismantlement and sale of the buildings took place during the French regime in the 1790s.

Events

Sights

Church of Sint-Anna-Pede, as painted by Peter Brueghel the Elder in The Parable of the Blind

Famous inhabitants

Twin cities

References

  1. ↑ Population per municipality as of 1 January 2016 (XLS; 397 KB)
  2. ↑ Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen – Dilbeek (Municipal elections results, 2006 and 2000)
  3. ↑ "The legend of Saint Alena" (in Dutch). Dilbeek.be.
 Asse Sint-Agatha-Berchem (BRU)
Ternat Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (BRU)
Anderlecht (BRU)
   Dilbeek  
Lennik Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
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