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Braine-l'Alleud

Braine-l'Alleud
Eigenbrakel  (Dutch)
Municipality
Eigenbrakel Blick zur Stephanskirche.jpg
Flag of Braine-l'Alleud
Flag
Coat of arms of Braine-l'Alleud
Coat of arms
Braine-l'Alleud is located in Belgium
Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud
Location in Belgium
Coordinates: 50°41′N 04°22′E / 50.683°N 4.367°E / 50.683; 4.367Coordinates: 50°41′N 04°22′E / 50.683°N 4.367°E / 50.683; 4.367
Country Belgium
Community French Community
Region Wallonia
Province Walloon Brabant
Arrondissement Nivelles
Government
 • Mayor Vincent Scourneau (MR-IC)
 • Governing party/ies MR-IC, PS
Area
 • Total 52.12 km2 (20.12 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)
 • Total 39,785
 • Density 760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Postal codes 1420, 1421, 1428
Area codes 02
Website www.braine-lalleud.be

Braine-l'Alleud (Dutch: Eigenbrakel) is a Walloon municipality in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Brussels. The Braine-l'Alleud municipality includes the former municipalities of Braine-l'Alleud proper, Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, and Lillois-Witterzée. It also includes the hamlet of Sart-Moulin, the inverted name of which inspired Hergé’s Moulinsart castle. The famous Lion of Waterloo where the eponymous battle took place is in the territory of Braine-l'Alleud. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch-speakers.

Several archaeological finds point to prehistoric settlements in this area. The first historical mention of a parish on Braine-l'Alleud's current territory, then called Dudinsart, dates from 1131, date at which Godfrey I, Duke of Brabant ceded it to the Abbey of Gembloux. The Duke, however, still owned exempt land (or ) on this territory, as specified in a legal document by Henry I dated 1197. The name of the municipality changed to the current one, derived from “Braine”, former name of the stream that crosses its territory (now called the “Hain”), and “alleu”, a medieval French word designating exempt land. The latter name was added to the former to distinguish this community from two neighbouring ones also called Braine.

At the beginning, the franchise might not have been much more than a right to local administration. By 1489, however, the local lord enjoyed complete juridical power on its territory, which was still formally part of the fiefdom obtained from the Duke of Brabant.


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