Nivelles (Municipality, Province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium)

Nijvel

Last modified: 2004-04-24 by ivan sache
Keywords: nivelles | nijvel |
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by Ivan Sache

• Presentation of Nivelles
  • Administrative data
  • History of the city of Nivelles
  • History of the other villages of the municipality
  • Historical characters from Nivelles
  • The Carnival and the Giants of Nivelles
• Description of the flag

See also:

• Belgium
• Province of Walloon Brabant: Municipal flags
• Belgium: Municipal flags

Presentation of Nivelles

Administrative data

The municipality of Nivelles (Dutch, Nijvel; 25,000 inhabitants)) is located c. 30 km south of Brussels. Nivelles is the capital city of the arrondissement of Nivelles, which is constituted by the whole province of Walloon Brabant.
The municipality of Nivelles is made of the city of Nivelles and the four neighbouring villages of Baulers, Bornival, Monstreux and Thines, which were incorporated to the municipality by the municipal reform of 1 January 1977.
The inhabitants of Nivelles born intra muros and able to prove several generations of ancestors in Nivelles are called aclots. It seems that this name does not mean "enclosed" but rather "whippersnappers".

History of the city of Nivelles

The city of Nivelles developed around a powerful abbey. Most of the further historical developments in Nivelles were caused by the struggle of the inhabitants of the city against the power of the almighty abbess.

In the early Middle-Ages, Brabant was part of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia (511-751). Most of the power in the kingdom was exerted by the maire du palais (Palace Mayor). St. Pepin de Landen (a.k.a. as the Ancient) was Palace Mayor of kings Clotaire II, Dagobert I and Sigebert III. When Pepin died, around 640, the courtiers attempted to despoil his family. To avoid this, Pepin's widow Itte (a.k.a. Iduberge), founded c. 647-650 a royal abbey in Nivelles and appointed her daughter Gertrude as abbess. She was supported by St. Amandus, an Irish monk, then bishop of Maastricht. On 7 March 659, Gertrude died, aged 33. She was succeded by her niece Wilfetrude. The abbey followed Sts. Colomban and Benedict's rule. Around 670, a monk from Nivelles wrote the first vita Gertrudis (Gertrude's life), in which he related the miracles exerted by the saint during her life and after her death. This work was the source of St. Gertrude's cult and of the popularity of the abbey.

Due to the increasing popularity of St. Gertrude's pilgrimage, the abbey church was progressively increased in size. On 4 May 1046, German Emperor Henri III (1017-1056) attended the dedication of the new collegiate church, which was more than hundred meters in length.
A document dated 1075 or 107