Brasschaat
Encyclopedia
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
, one of the three regions of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and in the Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
province
Provinces of Belgium
Belgium is divided into three regions, two of them are subdivided into five provinces each.The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution...
of Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
. The municipality only comprises the town of Brasschaat proper. In November 2006, Brasschaat won the LivCom-Award
World's Most Livable Cities
The world's most liveable cities is an informal name given to any list of cities as they rank on a reputable annual survey of living conditions. Two examples are the Mercer Quality of Living Survey and The Economists World's Most Livable Cities .Liveability rankings are designed for use by...
2006 for the most liveable municipality in the world.
Origins
The history of Brasschaat started with CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic settlements. The Gallic
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
tribe of the Belgae
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
displaced them and were in turn conquered by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, who built a major road in the area. After the Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
invasions in the 3rd and 4th century, the whole region was Christianized
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
. In the Middle Ages the little river Laarse, flowing through the woods of the municipality, served as a natural bordermark between the Bishopric of Liège
Bishopric of Liège
The Bishopric of Liège or Prince-Bishopric of Liège was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries in present Belgium. It acquired its status as a prince-bishopric between 980 and 985 when Bishop Notger, who had been the bishop of Liege since 972, acquired the status of Prince-Bishop...
and the Bishopric of Cambrai.
Middle Ages
The first mention of Breesgata, sometimes also spelled Brexgata, dates from 1269. In 1482, a convent of nuns was founded here, traces of which can still be seen today. The village of Brasschaat belonged geographically to the CampineCampine
The Campine is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-western Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands...
region, but politically and ecclesiastically was part of the Bishopric of Liège until 1569. At that time, the village had about 4,500 inhabitants and 383 horses. The end of the 16th century was particularly hard on the population. In the span of 25 years, the wars between Catholics and Protestants greatly reduced the population to 420 people and 59 horses. At the end of the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
that struck the community in 1610, only 26 families were left. The guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
of Sint-Antonius
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
, currently still the oldest local association, was founded in 1667.
Modern times
In 1823, Brasschaat became theoretically a municipality of its own, separate from EkerenEkeren
Ekeren is a northern district of the municipality of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The suburb celebrated its 850th birthday in 2005; the name of the town was first mentioned in 1155, as "Hecerna"....
. It named its own mayor and municipal council the following year. Its independence would however be recognized only in 1830.
Because of its strategic position in the defense of the port of Antwerp, Brasschaat became an important military outpost during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Brasschaat fort, still visible today, was built in 1912. Between 1937 and 1939 the fortifications were expanded with additional bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s and a large antitank ditch. Many of these old military buildings nowadays host colonies of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s.
The ancient Brexgata name is found in the designation of an international university association seated in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
(France). The name was chosen in homage to the municipality of Brasschaat; the organisation's historical research project was initiated in this town in 1999.
Folklore
- The yearly Dorpsdag (“village day”) takes place on the first Sunday in September and features a processionProcessionA procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
commemorating the consecration of the main chapel in 1753.
Sights
- Brasschaat is known as a park town (gemeente der parken). This includes various woods and former shooting rangeShooting rangeA shooting range or firing range is a specialized facility designed for firearms practice. Each facility is typically overseen by one or more supervisory personnel, called variously a range master or "RSO – Range Safety Officer" in the United States or a range conducting officer or "RCO" in the UK...
s. One of the best known nature preservations around Brasschaat is De Inslag, which includes 149 ha of woods and pastures as well as the antitank ditch mentioned above. - The De Mik castle, complete with drawbridgeDrawbridgeA drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
, is surrounded by English gardenEnglish gardenThe English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
s and an arboretumArboretumAn arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
. - The Brasschaat area also houses a petting farm and an artillery museum.
- Brasschaat is renowned in Belgium for its long high street lined with various shops, cafes and bars. The highly affluent reputation of Brasschaat is reflected in the street's selection of expensive jewellers, designer clothing stores and fashionable bars and cafes.
Famous inhabitants
- Walter Dewitte, biologistBiologistA biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
- Gerolf AnnemansGerolf AnnemansGerolf Emma Jozef Annemans is a Belgian politician. He is member of Vlaams Belang, a nationalist, conservative and secessionist political party.- Political career :...
, politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
(b. 1958) - Jean-Marie PfaffJean-Marie PfaffJean-Marie Pfaff is a Belgian former football goalkeeper.-Biography:At the age of 16, Pfaff joined K.S.K. Beveren with whom he won a Belgian champions title and a Belgian Cup . The same year, he received the Belgian Golden Shoe...
, soccer player (goalkeeper)
Sports
The town hosts a couple of famous sports events, the biggest one being the yearly Premium European Cup triathlonTriathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
. Its Hoogboom Military Camp
Hoogboom Military Camp
Hoogboom Military Camp was a military installation located in Brasschaat, Belgium, located 10 km northeast of neighboring Antwerp. The venue hosted the Olympic trap and 100 metre running deer shooting events for the 1920 Summer Olympics.-Reference:*...
hosted the Olympic trap
Olympic Trap
Officially referred to only as trap, and also known in the United States as international trap, bunker trap, trench or international clay pigeon, the single-target Olympic trap shooting event has a history over a hundred years old...
and 100 metre running deer shooting
Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics
At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, 21 events in shooting were contested. The competitions were held from July 22, 1920 to August 3, 1920.-Medal summary:-Medal table:...
events for the 1920 Summer Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
in neighboring Antwerp.