Braine-le-Château

Braine-le-Château
Braine-le-Château
State :	Belgium
Region :	Wallonia
Province :	Walloon Brabant
District :	Nivelles
Coordinates :	50 ° 41 ′  N , 4 ° 16 ′  E Coordinates: 50 ° 41 ′  N , 4 ° 16 ′  E
Area :	22.70 km²
Residents:	10,549 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density:	465 inhabitants per km²
Post Code:	1440
Prefix:	02
Mayor:	Gérard Lemaire (Renouveau Brainois (RB))
Local government address :	Rue de la Liberation, 9 1440 Braine-le-Château
Website:	www.braine-le-chateau.be

Braine-le-Château ( Walloon Brinne-Tchestea , Dutch Kasteelbrakel ) is a municipality in the French-speaking province of Walloon Brabant in Belgium . In the territorial reform of 1977 Wauthier-Braine was incorporated.

The place name is derived from Braine or Brakel, old names for the grove that flows through the community, as well as from the medieval (11th to 12th century) castle that was once there. Today's moated castle was built from this castle in the 13th century

geography

medieval watermill (12th century) on the grove

The municipality of Braine-le-Château is located in Wallonia in the province of Walloon Brabant a good 20 kilometers south-west of Brussels at an altitude of 50 to 151 meters. It extends over 22,698 km². The area is traversed by the Hain watercourse.

The neighboring municipalities are Tubize , Ittre and Braine-l'Alleud in Walloon Brabant and Halle in Flemish Brabant . The French-speaking community of Beauvechain thus borders the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north .

Braine-le-Château used to have its own train station. The nearest stations are now in Tubize and Halle on the Brussels to Mons line and in Braine-l'Alleud and Nivelles on the Brussels to Charleroi line . Braine-le-Château can be reached by bus from the train stations in Tubize and Braine-l'Alleud. The landmark of the place is a well-preserved pillory , the pilori, from the 16th century.

Braine-le-Château is on the E19 motorway.

history

The lock

Main courtyard of the palace

The history of Braine-le-Château dates back to 649. At that time, St. Waudru donated the area called Terre d'Ittre , to which Braine-le-Château also belonged, to the chapter of Mons. During the entire Middle Ages Braine-le-Château was under the Count of Hainaut .

The Braine-le-Château area passed through the hands of many families. In 1434 it was taken over by Jean de Hornes , in 1670 it was acquired by Count Lamoral Claudius Franz von Thurn und Taxis from the family of his wife Anna de Hornes; 1681 the county Braine-le-Château for his son was Eugene Alexander for Principauté de la Tour et Tassis appointed to the family Thurn and Taxis allow the rise in the Spanish-Dutch princes. In 1835, Count Eugène Gaspard de Robiano bought the property. Stanislas de Robiano (1853–1909) bequeathed the castle to his daughter and the Counts Cornet de Ways-Ruart have owned it ever since.

Under French rule, Braine-le-Château was part of the Dyle department. As a result, it came to the arrondissement of Nivelles in the province of Brabant. On January 1, 1977, Wauthier-Braine was merged with Braine-le-Château.

Wauthier-Braine has a slightly different history than Braine-le-Château. It belonged to the mayorry of La Hulpe on the territory of the Duke of Brabant . The Duchy of Brabant was neighboring the county of Hainaut and was often involved in armed conflicts with it.

politics

The local council ( Conseil Communal ) of Braine-le-Château has 21 members. The college with the mayor and four lay judges ( Echevins ) is formed from it.

Web links

Commons : Braine-le-Château  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of Braine-le-Château (French)