Grimbergen is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium, 10 km north of the capital Brussels. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Humbeek, and Strombeek-Bever. In 2017, Grimbergen had a total population of 37,030. The total area is 38.61 km2, which gives a population density of 959 PD/km2. Grimbergen is in the Dutch language area of Belgium. The French-speaking minority is represented by four members on the 30-seat local council. Grimbergen is mostly known for its Norbertine abbey and the beer once brewed there. Grimbergen's proximity to Brussels makes it a residential town for commuting.

History

Roman Empire and Middle Ages

In Roman times, several important roads passed near the territory of present Grimbergen. A fort was built in the 8th century at the strategic point where the road crossed the river Zenne. The local lord soon acquired a large piece of territory in this area, extending to the rivers Scheldt, Rupel, and Dender. In the 12th century, the name of the hamlet was Grentberghis, which came from the Old Dutch Grientbergen, meaning mounds of coarse sand. A community of Augustinian monks had already tried to settle here a century earlier during the reign of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine, but it was only in the early 12th century that their religious community prospered. Under the leadership of Norbert of Xanten, the Norbertine monks built the Grimbergen Abbey here in 1128, founding a beer brewery. A few years later, the animosity between the powerful Grimbergen family and their then infant overlord Godfrey III of Leuven precipitated the Wars of Grimbergen. The unrest caused the destruction of the local castle by the Duke of Brabant, the move of the ruling Grimbergen lord to nearby Ninove, and the parceling of his territory. The city's coat of arms dates from that period. At the beginning of the 14th century, half of the territory became part of the estate of the House of Nassau. Like everywhere else in Flanders, the Wars of Religion of the end of the 16th century caused widespread destruction. In 1752, Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, who had received the land from her consort William IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau, ceded the barony to the Prince of Berghes, who owned the other half, thereby reuniting the original land of Grimbergen as a single, but short-lived, princedom.

After the French Revolution

The feudal regime and the power of the lords came to an abrupt end under the French Regime in 1794. The clerical powers of the abbey were abrogated a couple of years later, until a few years after the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Up until then, the town's character was mostly rural and agricultural. In the middle of the 19th century, the new road linking Vilvoorde to Aalst and the Brussels-Willebroek canal started attracting industrial concerns. The vicinal tramway arrived in 1887, and a local airfield was built after World War I.

Sights

Grimbergen is home to the following sights:

Demographics

Events and sports

Notable people