Braine-l'Alleud (; nl, Eigenbrakel ; wa, Brinne-l'-Alou) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

located in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, about south of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (including the hamlet of Sart-Moulin),

Lillois-Witterzée Lillois-Witterzée ( wa, Liloe) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud, located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom o ...

, and

Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac ( wa, Opin) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud, located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the King ...

. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch speakers. The famous Lion of Waterloo, where the eponymous

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

took place, is in the territory of Braine-l'Alleud.

History

Middle Ages

Several archaeological finds point to

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

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 Gembloux Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Wallonia near the town of Gembloux in the province of Namur, Belgium. Since 1860, its buildings host the University of Liège's Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech faculty and campus (previously known as Agronomical Un ...

. The Duke, however, still owned exempt land (or

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

) on this territory, as specified in a legal document by

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

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(d)”, a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

French word designating exempt land (English ''

allod In the law of the Middle Ages and early Modern Period and especially within the Holy Roman Empire, an allod (Old Low Franconian ''allōd'' ‘fully owned estate’, from ''all'' ‘full, entire’ and ''ōd'' ‘estate’, Medieval Latin ''allodium ...

''). 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 A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

obtained from the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

Battle of Waterloo

In 1815, part of the fighting that took place at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

actually occurred on the territory of Braine-l’Alleud. The town's church of Saint-Étienne became a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

Sights

*The ''

Butte du Lion The Lion's Mound (french: Butte du Lion, "Lion's Hillock/Knoll"; nl, Leeuw van Waterloo, "Lion of Waterloo") is a large conical artificial hill located in Wallonia in the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud (Dutch: Eigenbrakel), Belgium. King Wi ...

'', erected on the site of the

, attracts thousands of visitors every year. A nearby visitor centre, a wax museum and a painted

Waterloo Panorama The Panorama of the Battle of Waterloo (french: Panorama de la Bataille de Waterloo) is a rotunda in Belgium that houses a monumental panoramic painting depicting the Battle of Waterloo. The neoclassical building is located immediately to the n ...

also help retrace the events that led to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's defeat in 1815. *Converted into a tourist information centre, the former house of Cardinal

Mercier Mercier is French for ''notions dealer'' or ''haberdasher'', and may refer to: People * Agnès Mercier, French curler and coach *Annick Mercier (born 1964), French curler *Amanda H. Mercier (born 1975), American Judge * Armand Mercier, (1933–20 ...

is a good starting point to explore the town. *Braine-l'Alleud is also home to a (slightly) smaller version of the well-known

Manneken Pis ''Manneken Pis'' (; ) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the 15th century, it w ...

, with the name "El Gamin qui Piche" (the peeing kid). *The hamlet of Sart-Moulin is the inverted name of which inspired

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

’s Moulinsart castle. File:Braine-l'Alleud JPG00a.jpg, Church of Saint-Étienne File:Belgium-Waterloo-Butte-du-Lion-statue.jpg, The ''

'', which overlooks the Waterloo battle field File:BrainelalleudFromWest.jpg, View of the town from the west

Sport

Braine l'Alleud is home to

RCS Braine Royal Cercle Sportif Brainois is a Wallonian Belgian football club from Braine-l'Alleud, Brabant. Founded in 1913, club is assigned matricule nr.75 and is one the oldest continuously existing clubs in the country. History The club was f ...

football club, founded in 1913 and one of the oldest continuously existing clubs in the country. The city also has a successful women's basketball club,

BC Castors Braine BC Castors Braine (English: Basketball Club Braine Beavers) is a basketball club, with both men's and women's sections, based in the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium. The women's team plays in the National First Division and won the title ...

. The free-to-play, 18-hole Parc du Bourdon disc golf course is situated 1 kilometer from Braine L'Alleud train station.

Folklore

*Both Ophain and Braine-l'Alleud host yearly

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

s featuring giant puppets like in most other

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

towns.

Famous inhabitants

Johannes Tinctoris Jehan le Taintenier or Jean Teinturier (Latinised as Johannes Tinctoris; also Jean de Vaerwere; – 1511) was a Renaissance music theorist and composer from the Low Countries. Up to his time, he is perhaps the most significant European writer ...

, Franco-Flemish musicologist and composer (c. 1435–1511), was born in the municipality. *

Désiré-Joseph Mercier Désiré Félicien François Joseph Mercier (21 November 1851 – 23 January 1926) was a Belgian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a noted scholar. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated into other European languages. H ...

, cardinal of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and national hero (1851–1926) *

Paul-Henri Spaak Paul-Henri Charles Spaak (; 25 January 1899 – 31 July 1972) was an influential Belgian Socialist politician, diplomat and statesman. Along with Robert Schuman, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer he was a leader in the formation of the ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and statesman (1899–1972) * Gaston Reiff, track-and-field athlete (1921–1992) *

Amaury Bonduel Amaury Bonduel (born 3 March 1999 in Braine-l'Alleud) is a racing driver from Belgium. He is the reigning V de V Challenge Monoplace champion and has previously competed in the GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seat ...

, racing driver (born 1999)

Transportation

* Rail: Braine l'Alleud has its own

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

part of the

SNCB french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen , type = Statutory corporation , industry = Rail Transport , foundation = 1926 , founder = Government ...

NMBS french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen , type = Statutory corporation , industry = Rail Transport , foundation = 1926 , founder = Government o ...

network, served by the line number 124. See

Braine-l'Alleud railway station Braine-l'Alleud (in Dutch language, Dutch : Eigenbrakel) is a railway station in the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud operated by National Railway Company of Belgium, SNCB/NMBS. The station is located on the Belgian railway line 124, line number ...

. * Bus: Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport (SRWT) (Walloon Regional Transport Company) operates under the name of "TEC Brabant Wallon". It is served by the following 10 bus lines: * Taxi: Multiple taxi services exist and pick up and drop off around the town. * Bicycle: Dedicated bicycle paths exist in the surroundings.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Braine-l'Alleud is twinned with:

References

External links

Official web site
(in French)
Official web page
(in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

) {{Authority control Municipalities of Walloon Brabant