Sint-Pieters-Leeuw (; , ) 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' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( ; ) 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, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also ...

, in the

Flemish region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The municipality comprises the towns of Oudenaken, Ruisbroek, Sint-Laureins-Berchem, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw proper and Vlezenbeek. Sint-Pieters-Leeuw is located just outside the

Brussels-Capital Region Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...

, in the Payottenland. The municipality is a blend of parks, castles, meadows and gardens with the Coloma park as its green heart. On 1 January 2018, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw had a total population of 34,025. The total area is , which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of . It is a mostly a residential community with largely preserved rural areas and some industrial zones. The official language of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw is Dutch.

History

The municipality is one of the largest municipalities in

. The rural settlement grew into a major residential and professional community. Sint-Pieters-Leeuw has a lengthy history behind it. The oldest document dates back to the 9th century and is a deed of donation by 'dame Angela', a noblewoman from Brabant, in which reference is made to a 'domain' of seven miles in length and one mile in width with a parent church and 9 subsidiary churches', donated to the chapter of Saint Peter in

Deutz, Cologne The Cologne borough of Deutz ( ; ) is a part of central Cologne, Germany, and was once an independent town. History Deutz was established under Roman Emperor Constantine I in 310 AD, when he established ''Castrum Divitia'', a military camp bu ...

. From 1236 onwards the domain belonged to the Land of Gaasbeek. In 1284 Henry I, Duke of Brabant and lord of Gaasbeek, granted a copy of the local penal code to the populace, which led the municipality to long remain the principal seat of a 'meierij' (Dutch for a district over which a mayor has jurisdiction) and a college of Aldermen. In 1687 the fiefdom of Gaasbeek was publicly sold in various parts. By marriage or inheritance both the water castle of Coloma, currently the Municipal Cultural Centre, and the rights of the fiefdom as well as all manner of provisions (among others mills) became the possession of important nobles and courtiers such as Jan Karel Roose, member of the

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ) was the highest court in the Burgundian Netherlands. It was responsible for the Dutch-, French- and German-speaking areas. In Luxembourg ...

and Vital-Alex de Coloma, chamberlain of empress Maria-Theresia. Since 1 January 1977 the former municipalities of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Oudenaken, Ruisbroek, Sint-Laureins-Berchem and Vlezenbeek have been joined to form a new administrative residential community.

Economy

Neuhaus, an international exporter of fine Belgian

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

, is based in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, as well as Lindemans Brewery, a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

that produces

lambic Lambic ( , ; ) is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels since the 13th century. Types of lambic beer include gueuze, kriek lambic, and framboise. Lambic differs from most other beers in that it is Bre ...

s, a distinctly Belgian type of beer. Other companies with a headquarters or main plant in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw include Belle-Vue Brewery, Mercedes-Benz Truck Center, Vanden Borre, Printer Systems (Avery Dennison), a Material Plant and Reinforcement Steel Plant of

Besix BESIX Group is a Belgium, Belgian construction group based in Brussels, one of the world's leading international contractors according to the Engineering News-Record, ENR ranking. Active since 1909, BESIX operates in Europe, the Middle East, Ocean ...

and DATS 24 (a subsidiary of Colruyt).

Sights

Attractions include: * Coloma park with Coloma castle *

Rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...

and rose museum: besides the castle, the Coloma park has gained significant tourist attraction by the creation in 1995 of the Coloma Rose Garden. In the centre of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw bloom over 3,000 rose varieties from 25 different countries for a combined total of 300,000 flowers. Today it has become one of the most colourful natural areas in the Green Belt surrounding Brussels. * The Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Tower, sometimes called the VRT-tower, is a 300 metre tall transmitter tower. Built in 1996, it is the tallest free standing structure in Belgium. * Witse-tree, a tree known for being used in the popular

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

, Witse. * Castle of Klein-Bijgaarden, castle of the family Wittouck * Domain Groenenberg - Gaasbeek, castle and park * Zuunvallei, Natural landscape * Zobbroekvallei, Natural landscape * Hof ten Brukom * Hof ten Zellik * Castle of Rattendaal * Church of Our Lady * Rats Castle * Saint Peter's Church * Chapel of the Holy Cross * Chapel of Saint Magdalen * Chapel of Saint Roch File:StPLColoma.jpg, Castle of Coloma, currently the Municipal Cultural Centre File:Maison de retraite des Pères de Scheut.JPG, Castle of Wittouck. File:StPLKerk.jpg, Gothic Saint Peter's Church (15th century) File:StPLMast.jpg, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Tower

Famous inhabitants

* Johannes Malderus (1563–1633), bishop of Antwerp * Jan van Ruusbroec (ca. 1293-1381), theologian and mystic * Jef Jurion (born 1937), football player * Prof. Baron

Roger Van Overstraeten Roger Joseph, Baron Van Overstraeten (7 December 1937, Vlezenbeek – 29 April 1999, Leuven) was a professor at the Catholic University of Leuven and later the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven, an IEEE Fellow and the founder of the micro- an ...

(1937-1999), professor * Paul Van Himst (1943), Belgian footballer and coach * Thomas Foket (born 1994), football player * Youri Tielemans (born 1997), football midfielder

Twin Cities

* : Altenahr * : Someren

References

External links

Official website
- in Dutch * - in Dutch
News site
- in Dutch
Info on nature reserves in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
in Dutch {{Authority control Municipalities of Flemish Brabant