Asse
Encyclopedia
Asse is a municipality
located in the Belgian
province of Flemish Brabant
. The municipality comprises the towns of Asse proper, Bekkerzeel, Kobbegem
, Mollem
, Relegem
and Zellik
. On January 1, 2006 Asse had a total population of 29,191. The total area is 49.64 km² which gives a population density
of 588 inhabitants per km².
. The name itself probably comes from a pre-Celtic word meaning “water” (cf Esch-, Es- and Axe- prefixes elsewhere in Europe). It was probably inhabited from an early date; stone tools have been found in various locations. The fertility of the soil and the relief which rises above the wetter plains of present-day Flanders would also suggest that his would have been an early area of settlement.
From the middle of the first century a Roman
military road connected it to the capital of the Roman province of Nervii
in Bavay
(Bagacum Nerviorum). The road continued northwards as far as the naval port at present-day Rumst
with various side roads to the East and West. It is possible that there was a Roman military camp to the South East of the present town centre in what is now known as “borgstad” though its role has not been clearly proven.
What is sure is that Asse grew to be a substantial settlement or vicus at an, at least locally, important road junction. Though no Roman buildings are extant there have been frequent archaeological finds including in 2007 a pottery and in 2008 a section of a (perhaps intra-urban) Roman road. It is possible that there was local cult of Epona
as a large number of clay
horse
figurines
, presumably votive offerings, have been found.
It is presumed that the Germanic language, which evolved into present-day Dutch
, was introduced during the Frankish
invasions in the late fourth and fifth centuries. Place name study would at least suggest that but there are no extant written sources.
During the Carolingian
period Asse was part of the region (gouw) of Brabant. During the period of the Viking
invasions it would seem that there was a relatively important fortified site (see the Vita Berlindis) in Asse. From 1085 or 1086 Asse was part of the Duchy of Brabant under the Dukes of Leuven
. The local vassal of the Duke was known as the “Heer van Asse” (i.e. the Lord of Asse) who was the Duke’s hereditary standard bearer.
Asse was situated on the cross roads of both north-south as well as east-west trade routes, having a fertile, easily cultivated and well-drained soil. It therefore grew to be a regionally important centre and a relatively important military-strategic one. Asse has often been the subject of military campaigns and has been recorded as having been burnt down several times.
The St Martins church gained some local fame as a centre of pilgrimage revolving around a miracle connected with the miraculous blossoming of a tree in which a Host had been hidden and the equally miraculous appearance of a cross – the Miracles of the Holy Cross.
In continuation of its role as seat of an important judicial court under the Ancien Regime Asse was made capital of a canton during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Period.
Lacking any mineral resources, being far from any navigable watercourses and being in close proximity to other larger centres such as Aalst
, Dendermonde
and Brussels
, Asse never developed into an important commercial, political or industrial centre but remained a locally important market town. There was some brewing and marketing of the local hop
production.
It is now a commuting
town for Brussels
with a number of light industrial and commercial activities.
crop, which was almost ready for harvest, could be severely damaged if the hop vines were knocked to the ground. it is thought that the ' hopduvel ' was invented by the hop farmers to personify this danger and was institutionalised by the founder of the “Hopduvelfeesten” (Hop Devil Festival), Eugeen Van den Broeck. Every year the Hopduvelfeesten is organised after the hop harvest in order to have a good harvest in the following years. This is symbolically done by burning the effigies of hopduvels that have been assembled by the local farmers and for which a contest is organised to elect the best (ugliest) Hopduvel. This tradition is still continued even though there has been very little hop production in the area since the 1970s
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
province of Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
. The municipality comprises the towns of Asse proper, Bekkerzeel, Kobbegem
Kobbegem
Kobbegem is a village that is now part of the municipality of Asse, Flemish Brabant, Belgium.It was an independent agricultural municipality until 1976. In 1997 it had 805 inhabitants and a brewery....
, Mollem
Mollem
Mollem is a village in the municipality of Asse, Flemish Brabant, Belgium.It used to be a town on its own but now is a part of Asse.Mollem has a railway station on line 60 between Jette and Dendermonde.The hamlet of Bollebeek is close to the village....
, Relegem
Relegem
Relegem is a town and deelgemeente in the municipality of Asse in Flemish Brabant, Belgium. Relegem was its own municipality until January 1, 1977 when it was merged with Asse as part of the fusion of municipalities in Belgium. Just before the merger, it had an area of , and a total of 1116...
and Zellik
Zellik
Zellik is an urbanised town with over 8,000 inhabitants in the municipality of Asse, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. As a suburb on the northwest edge of Brussels, it is separated from the rest of the agglomeration by the R0 ring road around the city...
. On January 1, 2006 Asse had a total population of 29,191. The total area is 49.64 km² which gives a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 588 inhabitants per km².
History
Asse (used to be spelt “Assche”) was probably inhabited by the Celtic tribe of the NerviiNervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
. The name itself probably comes from a pre-Celtic word meaning “water” (cf Esch-, Es- and Axe- prefixes elsewhere in Europe). It was probably inhabited from an early date; stone tools have been found in various locations. The fertility of the soil and the relief which rises above the wetter plains of present-day Flanders would also suggest that his would have been an early area of settlement.
From the middle of the first century a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
military road connected it to the capital of the Roman province of Nervii
Nervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
in Bavay
Bavay
Bavay is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies 15 m. ESE of Valenciennes by railway.-History:Under the name of Bagacum or Bavacum, the town was the capital of the Nervii and, under the Roman Empire, an important center of roads, the meeting-place of which was marked by a...
(Bagacum Nerviorum). The road continued northwards as far as the naval port at present-day Rumst
Rumst
Rumst is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Since 1976 the municipality not only comprises Rumst proper but also the towns of Reet and Terhagen, which were independent municipalities before that year.Industry in Rumst, like Boom, was heavily focused around the production...
with various side roads to the East and West. It is possible that there was a Roman military camp to the South East of the present town centre in what is now known as “borgstad” though its role has not been clearly proven.
What is sure is that Asse grew to be a substantial settlement or vicus at an, at least locally, important road junction. Though no Roman buildings are extant there have been frequent archaeological finds including in 2007 a pottery and in 2008 a section of a (perhaps intra-urban) Roman road. It is possible that there was local cult of Epona
Epona
In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain and the presence of foals in some sculptures suggested that the goddess and her horses were leaders of the...
as a large number of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
figurines
Figurines
Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, The Detour, in 2001 and their first full-length album, Shake a Mountain, in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began...
, presumably votive offerings, have been found.
It is presumed that the Germanic language, which evolved into present-day Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, was introduced during the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
invasions in the late fourth and fifth centuries. Place name study would at least suggest that but there are no extant written sources.
During the Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
period Asse was part of the region (gouw) of Brabant. During the period of the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
invasions it would seem that there was a relatively important fortified site (see the Vita Berlindis) in Asse. From 1085 or 1086 Asse was part of the Duchy of Brabant under the Dukes of Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
. The local vassal of the Duke was known as the “Heer van Asse” (i.e. the Lord of Asse) who was the Duke’s hereditary standard bearer.
Asse was situated on the cross roads of both north-south as well as east-west trade routes, having a fertile, easily cultivated and well-drained soil. It therefore grew to be a regionally important centre and a relatively important military-strategic one. Asse has often been the subject of military campaigns and has been recorded as having been burnt down several times.
The St Martins church gained some local fame as a centre of pilgrimage revolving around a miracle connected with the miraculous blossoming of a tree in which a Host had been hidden and the equally miraculous appearance of a cross – the Miracles of the Holy Cross.
In continuation of its role as seat of an important judicial court under the Ancien Regime Asse was made capital of a canton during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Period.
Lacking any mineral resources, being far from any navigable watercourses and being in close proximity to other larger centres such as Aalst
Aalst, Belgium
Aalst is a city and municipality on the Dender River, 19 miles northwest from Brussels. It is located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Aalst itself and the villages of Baardegem, Erembodegem, Gijzegem, Herdersem, Hofstade,...
, Dendermonde
Dendermonde
Dendermonde is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde proper and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, Mespelare, Oudegem, Schoonaarde, and Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde...
and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Asse never developed into an important commercial, political or industrial centre but remained a locally important market town. There was some brewing and marketing of the local hop
Hop (plant)
Humulus, Hop, is a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers of H. lupulus are known as hops, and are used as a culinary flavoring and stabilizer, especially in the brewing of beer...
production.
It is now a commuting
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
town for Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
with a number of light industrial and commercial activities.
Hopduvel Festival
The Hopduvel (Hopdevil) represents the storm that often hit Asse-Ternat at the end of the month of August. The hop vineHop (plant)
Humulus, Hop, is a small genus of flowering plants native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers of H. lupulus are known as hops, and are used as a culinary flavoring and stabilizer, especially in the brewing of beer...
crop, which was almost ready for harvest, could be severely damaged if the hop vines were knocked to the ground. it is thought that the ' hopduvel ' was invented by the hop farmers to personify this danger and was institutionalised by the founder of the “Hopduvelfeesten” (Hop Devil Festival), Eugeen Van den Broeck. Every year the Hopduvelfeesten is organised after the hop harvest in order to have a good harvest in the following years. This is symbolically done by burning the effigies of hopduvels that have been assembled by the local farmers and for which a contest is organised to elect the best (ugliest) Hopduvel. This tradition is still continued even though there has been very little hop production in the area since the 1970s
External links
- Official website - Available only in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
- Gazetteer Entry for Asse