Sint-Pieters-Leeuw (; french: Leeuw-Saint-Pierre) is a

Dutch-speaking Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' i ...

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 ...

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 ...

located in the province of

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Haina ...

(

Flemish Region The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and t ...

). The municipality comprises the towns of Oudenaken, Ruisbroek, Sint-Laureins-Berchem, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw proper and

Vlezenbeek Vlezenbeek is a small town of 3,324 in the Flemish Brabant southwest of Brussels, Belgium. It is part of the municipality Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. It is the home of Neuhaus, an international exporter of fine Belgian chocolate, as well as Lindemans Bre ...

. Sint-Pieters-Leeuw is located just outside the

Brussels-Capital Region 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 ...

, in the Payottenland. The municipality is a blend of parks, castles, meadows and gardens with the Coloma park as its green heart. On January 1, 2018, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw had a total population of 34,025. The total area is 40.38 km² which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 842 inhabitants per km². It is a mostly a residential community with largely preserved rural areas and some industrial zones.

History

The municipality is one of the largest municipalities in

. The rural settlement grew into a major residential and professional community. Sint-Pieters-Leeuw has a lengthy history behind it. The oldest document dates back to the 9th century and is a deed of donation by 'dame Angela', a noblewoman from

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

, in which reference is made to a 'domain' of seven miles in length and one mile in width with a parent church and 9 subsidiary churches', donated to the chapter of Saint Peter in

Deutz, Cologne The Cologne borough of Deutz (german: Köln-Deutz ; ), is a part of central Cologne, Germany, and was once an independent town. History Deutz was established under Roman Emperor Constantine I in 310 AD, when he established ''Castrum Divitia'', ...

. From 1236 onwards the domain belonged to the Land of

Gaasbeek Gaasbeek is a village in the Belgian municipality of Lennik in Flemish Brabant. It is most known for Gaasbeek Castle Gaasbeek Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Gaasbeek, french: Château de Gaesbeek) is a castle located in Lennik, Flemish Brabant, ...

. In 1284

Henry I, Duke of Brabant Henry I ( nl, Hendrik, french: Henri; c. 1165 – 5 September 1235), named "The Courageous", was a member of the House of Reginar and first duke of Brabant from 1183/84 until his death. Early life Henry was possibly born in Leuven (Louvain) ...

and lord of Gaasbeek, granted a copy of the local penal code to the populace, which led the municipality to long remain the principal seat of a 'meierij' (Dutch for a district over which a mayor has jurisdiction) and a college of Aldermen. In 1687 the fiefdom of Gaasbeek was publicly sold in various parts. By marriage or inheritance both the water castle of Coloma, currently the Municipal Cultural Centre, and the rights of the fiefdom as well as all manner of provisions (among others mills) became the possession of important nobles and courtiers such as Jan Karel Roose, member of the

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ''De Grote Raad der Nederlanden te Mechelen''; French: ''le grand conseil des Pays-Bas à Malines''; German: ''der Grosse Rat der Niederlände zu Mecheln'') w ...

and Vital-Alex de Coloma, chamberlain of empress Maria-Theresia. Since 1 January 1977 the former municipalities of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Oudenaken, Ruisbroek, Sint-Laureins-Berchem and

have been joined to form a new administrative residential community.

Economy

Neuhaus, an international exporter of fine Belgian

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

, is based in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, as well as

Lindemans Brewery Lindemans Brewery (Brouwerij Lindemans) is a Belgian family brewery based in Vlezenbeek, a small town in Flemish Brabant, southwestern Brussels. It produces lambics, a style of Belgian ale that uses raw wheat and wild yeast. History The history ...

, a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

that produces

lambic Lambic () is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels and in Brussels itself since the 13th century. Types of lambic beers include gueuze, kriek lambic and framboise. Lambic differs from most other beers ...

s, a distinctly Belgian type of beer. Other companies with a headquarters or main plant in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw include

Belle-Vue Brewery Belle-Vue Brewery is a brewery founded in 1913 in Molenbeek, Brussels by Philémon Vandenstock from nearby Itterbeek, which lies in a region known for its lambic type of beer. A variety of Belle-Vue lambic and fruit beers are produced in Sint-Pie ...

, Mercedes-Benz Truck Center, Vanden Borre, Printer Systems (Avery Dennison), a Material Plant and Reinforcement Steel Plant of

Besix BESIX Group is a construction group based in Brussels, one of the world's leading international contractors according to the ENR ranking. Active since 1909, BESIX operates in Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, North America and Asia. Its a ...

and DATS 24 (a subsidiary of

Colruyt Colruyt Group is a Belgian family-owned retail corporation that is managing the Colruyt supermarkets and other subsidiaries such as OKay, Bio-Planet, DATS 24, DreamLand, DreamBaby, and more. Founded in 1928 by Franz Colruyt, the group today i ...

Sights

Attractions include: * Coloma park with Coloma castle *

Rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

and rose museum: besides the castle, the Coloma park has gained significant tourist attraction by the creation in 1995 of the Coloma Rose Garden. In the centre of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw bloom over 3,000 rose varieties from 25 different countries for a combined total of 300,000 flowers. Today it has become one of the most colourful natural areas in the Green Belt surrounding Brussels. * The

Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Tower The Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Tower, sometimes called the VRT-toren, although there are several by that name, is a free standing tower at Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, on the outskirts of Brussels, Belgium, built between 1991 and 1994. It is the tallest free sta ...

, sometimes called the VRT-tower, is a 300 metre tall transmitter tower. Built in 1996, it is the tallest free standing structure in Belgium. * Witse-tree, a tree known for being used in the popular

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

, Witse. * Castle of Klein-Bijgaarden, castle of the family Wittouck * Domain Groenenberg -

, castle and park * Zuunvallei, Natural landscape * Zobbroekvallei, Natural landscape * Hof ten Brukom * Hof ten Zellik * Castle of Rattendaal * Church of Our Lady * Rats Castle * Saint Peter's Church * Chapel of the Holy Cross * Chapel of Saint Magdalen * Chapel of Saint Roch File:StPLColoma.jpg, Castle of Coloma, currently the Municipal Cultural Centre File:Maison de retraite des Pères de Scheut.JPG, Castle of Wittouck. File:StPLKerk.jpg, Gothic Saint Peter's Church (15th century) File:StPLMast.jpg,

Famous inhabitants

Johannes Malderus Johannes Malderus (1563–1633) was the fifth bishop of Antwerp and the founder of Malderus College at the University of Leuven. Ch. Piot, "Malderus (Jean)", ''Biographie Nationale de Belgique''vol. 13(Brussels, 1895), 223-226. Life Malderus ...

(1563–1633), bishop of Antwerp *

Jan van Ruusbroec John van Ruysbroeck, original Flemish name Jan van Ruusbroec () (1293 or 1294 – 2 December 1381) was an Augustinian canon and one of the most important of the Flemish mystics. Some of his main literary works include ''The Kingdom of the Divi ...

(ca. 1293-1381), theologian and mystic *

Jef Jurion Armand Joseph Jurion (born 24 February 1937), nicknamed Jef, is a Belgian former professional footballer who played for the Belgium national team from 1955 to 1967. Jurion spent most of his club career at R.S.C. Anderlecht where he won nine cha ...

(born 1937), football player * Prof. Baron Roger Van Overstraeten (1937-1999), professor *

Paul Van Himst Paul Van Himst (born 2 October 1943) is a Belgian former football player and a football manager who played as a forward, most notably for R.S.C. Anderlecht. Career Van Himst was nicknamed ''Polle Gazon'' (''Polle'' is Paul in Brussels dialect, ...

(1943), Belgian footballer and coach * Thomas Foket (born 1994), football player *

Youri Tielemans Youri Marion A. Tielemans (born 7 May 1997) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Leicester City F.C., Leicester City and the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. Tielema ...

(born 1997), football midfielder

Twin Cities

* :

Altenahr Altenahr () is a municipality in the Ahrweiler (district), district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative centre for the Verbandsgemeinde Altenahr, eponymous collective municipality, to which it belongs. Altenahr ...

* :

Someren Someren () is a municipality and town in the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. As of January 2019, the municipality had 19,322 inhabitants, with over half of the population residing in the town. Someren, just south of Helmond a ...

References

External links

Official website
- in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Toerist info
- in

News site
- in

Info on nature reserves in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
in

{{Authority control Municipalities of Flemish Brabant