Teralfene is a village in the municipality of

Affligem Affligem (; anciently written Afflighem) is a municipality located some west-north-west of Brussels in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, not far from the city of Aalst and the important railway junction of Denderleeuw. Affligem is situa ...

, Belgium. It has an area of 244 ha (602.94 acres). The other communities in Affligem are Hekelgem and Essene.

Name

The name "Teralfene" originates from the brook Alfene (now called the Bellebeek) which flows into the

Dender The Dender () or Dendre () is a long river in Belgium, the right tributary of the river Scheldt. The confluence of the two rivers is in the Belgian town of Dendermonde. The Western or Little Dender is long and begins in Barry near Leuze-en-Hain ...

. The oldest reference to the village is ''Iuxta Alfnam'' (circa 1142).

History

During the post-

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

period, Teralfene belonged to the shire of Brabant. From 1056 it was part of a fief of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

that was granted to the

counts of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the ...

(known as Imperial Flanders). During the French period (1796-1815) Teralfene was part of the Department of the Dyle. During the Dutch period (1815-1830) this department was transformed into the province

South Brabant South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...

Politics

List of mayors

This list contains the known mayors of Teralfene until the merger into Affligem.

Political parties

Before Teralfene became part of Affligem, two political parties were prominent at the local level: the Dries and the Daal-party, each named after an area of the village. Both parties originated from a disagreement over an inheritance, and divided Teralfene since 1850. The Daal and Dries parties had about equal power, and election victories switched constantly for over 100 years. After the merger into Affligem, other parties ( CVP, SP, VU and

PVV PVV may refer to: * Party for Freedom (), a political party in the Netherlands * Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV-PLP; , ), a Belgian political party 1961–1992 * ''Politie Voetbal Vrienden'', a Surinamese football club * Fly Pro, a Moldovan c ...

) gained popularity, and the Daal and Dries parties dissolved.

Demographics

19th century

20th century until 1976 (year of merger into Affligem)

References

{{coord, 50, 54, N, 4, 06, E, region:BE_type:city, display=title Populated places in Flemish Brabant