Heist-op-den-Berg () is a

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

located in the

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 language ...

province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Heist-op-den-Berg proper (including the hamlets: Heist-Goor, Heist-Station, Zonderschot, Heist-Centrum and Bruggeneinde), the villages of (including the hamlet Pijpelheide), , , and .

History

The 48-meter-high hill on which Heist would later be built (hence the adjunct name ''op-den-Berg'' meaning "on the hill") was formed during the early part of the

Ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. As can be appreciated from the artifacts shown at the regional museum on the city's main square, this area was already populated in

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 o ...

times. Soon after the Romans yielded this land to the invading

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

in the 3rd and 4th century,

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, cont ...

followed. The village of Itegem, located right on the

Nete River The Nete (; french: Nèthe, ) is a river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Rupel. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed in Lier, at the confluence of the rivers Grote Nete and Kleine Nete. It flows through ...

, was most likely the first hamlet to be founded, as suggested by a document dating from 976. Chapels in Hallaar and Itegem were built in the 12th century. This century also marked the beginnings of the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg ...

, of which this whole area was a part. Around the year 1200, a military fort was built at the current location of the ''Ter Laken'' castle, on Booischot's territory. Schriek, which was founded in 1125, got its own chapel in 1260 while the main church at Heist was built in 1340. These two religious buildings were heavily damaged during the wars of religion around 1600. During most of the

Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, agriculture was driving the economy and several huge farming domains were built, some of which still subsist today (e.g., ''Wimpelhoeve'' in Wiekevorst, traces of which date from the 12th century, and ''Pandoerenhoeve'' in Schriek, dating from 1624). During the 17th and 18th century, the miraculous wooden statue of the Virgin and Child in the Hallaar church became an object of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. The current city hall was built in 1844, fourteen years after the foundation of Belgium as an independent country. Today, the city is mostly a residential centre, which offers services to the surrounding communities.

Events

Heistse Pijl The Heistse Pijl is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in June around the municipality of Heist-op-den-Berg, Belgium. Since 2016, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of ...

, cycling race *Heist-op-den-Berg is well known for its Sunday morning

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell Used good, previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development o ...

Sights

*The historical heart of the city is the church square (''Kerkplein''), where one of the city's many old water

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids ( liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method the ...

s can be seen, and where a train museum (''Treinmuseum'') and a regional farming museum (''Heemmuseum'') can be visited. *An old

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in so ...

, the last one in the

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

area, churches and chapels, and farms, many with their original water pumps, dot the landscape around the city. *Heist-op-den-Berg (especially Itegem) also houses several castles, most of which are privately owned and therefore not open to the public.

Notable residents

Ivo van Hove Ivo van Hove (born 28 October 1958) is a Belgian theatre director known as the artistic director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam in the Netherlands and for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. On Broadway, he has directed rev ...

, theatre director * Rik Torfs, Rector of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven * Silvy De Bie,

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

(b. 1981) *

Leo Laurens Leo Laurens (born 30 July 1952) is a professional Belgian former darts player who competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. At the end of 1993, he was number one in the WDF world rankings after all of the BDO's top players broke away ...

(born 1952), former professional darts player * Paul Michiels,

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

(b. 1948) * Filip Verlinden (born 1982), kickboxer *

Anak Verhoeven Anak Verhoeven (born 15 July 1996) is a Belgian sport climber. Since 2013, she has repeatedly won the Belgian National Championship in lead climbing. In 2016, she ranked first on the IFSC World Ranking List. In 2017, she won both the World Ga ...

, (born 1996), rock climber

References

External links