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Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement includes all the municipalities in Walloon Brabant. The Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude has been classified as a heritage site of Wallonia.


History


The rise of Nivelles

Starting in 4000 BC, the Nivelles region was gradually turned into agricultural land by the Danubian settlers. Most of their ancestral Rubanean civilization was destroyed by the Roman invaders during the first century AD. In turn, most of the Roman constructions, including villas, were destroyed during the Germanic invasions of the 3rd century. In the 7th century, the territory was part of the
Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...
n Frankish kingdom, and the Mayor of the Palace, Pippin of Landen, rebuilt a villa there that covered more than 78 km². After Pippin's death in 640, the bishop of Maastricht, the future Saint Amand, urged Pippin's widow,
Itta Itta of Metz, O.S.B. (also ''Ida'', ''Itte'' or ''Iduberga''; 592–8 May 652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of the Kingdom of Austrasia. After his death, she founded the Abbey of Nivelles, where she became a Colombanian ...
, to found an abbey in their villa. Itta's daughter, Gertrude, became the monastery's first abbess and was venerated as a saint upon her death. The growing influx of pilgrims necessitated the construction of ever-bigger churches, which culminated in the huge Romanesque structure that still stands today. The dedication of the church took place in 1046 in the presence of Wazo, Prince-Bishop of Liège, and Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. This was the golden age of the Nivelles monastery, which now owned territories as far as Friesland, the
Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
and the Rhine.


13th century to 1830

In the 13th century, the city that grew around the church became part of the Duchy of Brabant. The population was mainly artisans and guild members, who did not hesitate to fight the abbesses and the dukes to obtain their rights. These rights were finally granted by
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant Joanna, Duchess of Brabant (24 June 1322 – 1 December 1406), also known as Jeanne, was a ruling Duchess (Duke) of Brabant from 1355 until her death. She was duchess of Brabant until the occupation of the duchy by her brother-in-law Louis II of ...
in the 14th century. In 1647, an important uprising by the thread manufacturers resulted in many of the city's entrepreneurs leaving for France, leading to the city's economic decline. The wars of the 17th century between France and the Spanish Netherlands made the situation worse as Nivelles went through successive sieges and military occupations. The Austrian and
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
regimes of the 18th century brought religious and administrative reforms to the city.


1830 to the present day

In 1830, Nivelles was one of the first cities to send patriotic troops to Brussels to fight in the
Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. T ...
. The following years were marked by the growth of heavy industry, including metallurgy and railway construction. The bombing of the city during World War I brought some damage to buildings, but greater devastation occurred during World War II on 14 May 1940, when almost the entire city centre was destroyed, leaving only the walls of the collegiate church standing. The rebuilding of the church was completed in 1984, but remains can be seen of wall fragments on the south side of the collegiate.


Main sights

*The collegiate church of Gertrude of Nivelles, patron saint of the city, dates from the 11th to the 13th century and is one of the best examples of Romanesque style in Belgium. It has been classified as one of Europe's major heritage sites. Tombs from the Merovingian (7th century) and
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
(9th century) periods have been found under the church. The Romanesque
crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. *The two-meter-tall statue that strikes the hours in one of the towers (french: jacquemart) is affectionately known as "Jean de Nivelles". Jean dates from around 1400. *The Recollets convent and its church date from the 16th century. *Nivelles also has an archaeological museum, which complements the visit at Saint Gertrude. *The "Dodaine" park provides a welcome green space on the southern side of the town.


Folklore

* Like Ath, Nivelles boasts a collection of
processional giant Processional giants, french: géants processionnels, es, gigantes y cabezudos, va, gegants i cabuts, ca, gegants i capgrossos, eu, erraldoi eta buruhandiak are costumed figures in European folklore, particularly present in Culture of Bel ...
s, one of which,
Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
, dates from 1365. The Goliath family (husband, wife and son) is usually accompanied by an odd collection of giant animals, including a lion, a camel, a unicorn, and a dragon. * Originating in the 13th century, the well-attended Saint-Gertrude religious procession is held annually. * The
Nivelles Carnival The Nivelles Carnival (french: Carnaval de Nivelles) is one of the most important carnivals in Belgium. It is the oldest carnival in the province of Walloon Brabant. It welcomes a lot of floats, traditional groups, majorettes, fanfares and gian ...
is more recent (19th century) and takes place on the first weekend of Lent. Like the
Binche Carnival The Carnival of Binche (french: Carnaval de Binche) is an annual event in the Belgian town of Binche during the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday.Spencer, p.16 The carnival is the best known of several that take place in Wallo ...
, that of Nivelles includes the famous Gilles. * The city's gastronomic specialty is the ''tarte al d'jote'', a type of
quiche Quiche ( ) is a French tart consisting of pastry crust filled with savoury custard and pieces of cheese, meat, seafood or vegetables. A well-known variant is quiche Lorraine, which includes lardons or bacon. Quiche may be served hot, warm or co ...
including local cheese, onions, greens, eggs and butter. * Nivelles is also known for its 49-bell
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
and its four named canons.


Sports

In and , the
Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French language, French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German language, German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula O ...
was hosted at the
Nivelles-Baulers Nivelles-Baulers was a race track in Nivelles (in French)/Nijvel (in Dutch) near Brussels, Belgium. History Built in 1971, the circuit hosted two rounds of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix in 1972 and 1974 both won by Emerson Fittipaldi, du ...
circuit. Emerson Fittipaldi won the race both times. The circuit ultimately proved unpopular and has since been demolished. In September 2007, Nivelles jointly hosted the VII European Handball Championship of Ballpelote, International fronton and International game with Buizingen.


Famous inhabitants

*St
Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. Life Family and childhood The ea ...
– Convent cofounder (7th century) * St Wilfretrudis of Nivelles – Abbess and niece of Gertrude (7th century) * Pippin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of
Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...
under the Merovingian kings (7th century) *
Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. Life Family and childhood The ea ...
, Pippin's daughter and abbess of the Nivelles monastery (626–659) *
Johann Tserclaes Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly ( nl, Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; german: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; french: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's ...
, Holy Roman Empire general in the Thirty Years' War (1559–1632) * Louis-Joseph Seutin, doctor and surgeon (1793–1862) *
Jules Louis Guillery Jules Louis Guillery (14 March 1824 – 7 February 1902) was a Belgian lawyer and liberal politician. As a politician, he was a member of the Belgian parliament and President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives from 13 November 1878 until ...
, lawyer and politician (1824–1902) *
Henri Delmotte Henri Philibert Joseph Delmotte (14 March 1822 – 10 July 1884) was a Belgian playwright, librettist and novelist. Delmotte was born in Baudour, Hainaut (province), Hainaut and studied law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, graduating in 1 ...
, novelist (1822–1884) * Didier Theys, racing driver (b. 1956) *
André Lotterer André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver currently racing for Avalanche Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is best known for his success in endurance racing with the works Audi team, ...
, racing driver (b. 1981)


Twin city

*: Saintes


See also

* Brabant killers


References


External links


Official town website
in French. {{Authority control Cities in Wallonia Burial sites of the Pippinids Municipalities of Walloon Brabant Romanesque architecture in Belgium