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Groot-Bijgaarden

Coordinates: 50°52′N 4°15′E / 50.867°N 4.250°E / 50.867; 4.250
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Groot-Bijgaarden Castle

Groot-Bijgaarden (French: Grand-Bigard) is a village and deelgemeente in the municipality of Dilbeek, a suburb of Brussels, in Flanders, Belgium.

Toponymy

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The name Bijgaarden is derived from the Germanic word for enclosure. The appellation "Great" (Groot) was attached to distinguish it from the smaller Klein-Bijgaarden nearby, now in the municipality of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw.

History

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The earliest record of Groot-Bijgaarden is in the 12th century, when it appears as Bigardis. This derives from the house of Bijgaarden. They made various contributions to the abbeys of Affligem and Groot-Bijgaarden. As a result of different marriages, the village came into the hands of the Veele Family, an important family from Brussels.

After many donations, Groot-Bijgaarden was publicly sold to the counts of Königsegg-Erps in the second half of the 14th century.

It is a former municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. Since 1977 it is a subdivision (deelgemeente) of the municipality of Dilbeek.

Geography

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Groot-Bijgaarden is situated between Dilbeek and Zellik. As of 31 December 2019 the population of Groot-Bijgaarden was 8.349.[1]

Attractions

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  • Groot-Bijgaarden Castle: rebuilt castle, where an annual flower show is held in spring.
  • Saint-Wivina Benedictine nunnery: founded in 1125, grew strongly thanks to various donations, sold publicly during the French Revolution.
  • Sint-Egidius Church: built in 1776, rebuilt in 1950 after a hit by a German V2 during the Second World War
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Notes

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  1. ^ Current population figures only are provided by the municipal administration of Dilbeek [1]

50°52′N 4°15′E / 50.867°N 4.250°E / 50.867; 4.250