Local time Friday 7:13 PM | Population 7,243 (31 Dec 2003) | |
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Weather 9°C, Wind E at 6 km/h, 61% Humidity | ||
Groot-Bijgaarden is a village and deelgemeente in the municipality of Dilbeek, a suburb of Brussels, in Flanders, Belgium.
Contents
Map of Groot-Bijgaarden, 1702 Dilbeek, Belgium
Toponomy
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
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 come 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
Groot-Bijgaarden is situated between Dilbeek and Zellik. As of 31 December 2010 the population of Groot-Bijgaarden was 7591.