Affligem (; anciently written Afflighem) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

located some west-north-west of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in the Belgian province of

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hai ...

, not far from the city of Aalst and the important railway junction of Denderleeuw. Affligem is situated in the Pajottenland. The municipality comprises the villages of

Essene The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st ce ...

, Hekelgem and Teralfene (note that there is no village called Affligem proper). On 1 January 2006 it had 11,956 inhabitants. The total area is , giving a population density of 676 inhabitants per km². Historically, the village is best known for the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

Affligem Abbey, founded in 1062.

Affligem abbey beers

The abbey of Affligem was founded around 1074, making it one of the oldest breweries and businesses in Belgium. The label "anno 1074" on the Affligem beer bottles is based on Abbey's founding. The brand name is used under license from the monks of Affligem, by the Op-Ale brewery in the neighbouring village of

Opwijk Opwijk () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Mazenzele and Opwijk proper. On January 1, 2012, Opwijk had a total population of 13,990. The total area is 19.69 km² whi ...

. The brewery is now owned by

Heineken International Heineken N.V. () is a Dutch multinational brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. , Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 348 international, regional, local and speciality b ...

, who have renamed it the Affligem brewery and market the beers internationally.

References

External links and sources

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Affligem Municipality
Official site Municipalities of Flemish Brabant {{FlemishBrabant-geo-stub