# Hekelgem > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hekelgem > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hekelgem.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hekelgem > Source revision: 1269425157 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Hekelgem** is a village in the province [Flemish Brabant](/source/Flemish_Brabant), [Belgium](/source/Belgium). In 1977 it merged with [Essene](/source/Essene_(Belgium)) and [Teralfene](/source/Teralfene) to form the municipality of [Affligem](/source/Affligem), of which it remains a [section](/source/Deelgemeente). The merged municipality is named after the historic [Affligem Abbey](/source/Affligem_Abbey) in Hekelgem. ## History The oldest mentions of Hekelgem are as *Hecelengim* (1105), *Eclegen* (1119) and *Heclengem* (1148).[1] Historically it has often been referred to as *Hekelghem*. The village was situated on the main road between [Brussels](/source/Brussels) and [Ghent](/source/Ghent), and on the historical frontier between the [Duchy of Brabant](/source/Duchy_of_Brabant) and the [County of Flanders](/source/County_of_Flanders) (now the provinces of [Flemish Brabant](/source/Flemish_Brabant) and [East Flanders](/source/East_Flanders)). In the later Middle Ages and through the Early Modern period the territory was partly subject to the [lordship of Asse](/source/Marquess_of_Assche) and partly to Affligem Abbey, with frequent disputes about their relative rights and privileges, particularly with regard to the woodland and heath surrounding the village.[1] In the year 1295, [John II, Duke of Brabant](/source/John_II,_Duke_of_Brabant), recognised that the abbey by immemorial custom had the right to appoint a board of seven aldermen; the lords of Asse appointed a mayor, who was denied any authority within (and sometimes even physical access to) the monastery.[1] The [parish church](/source/Parish_church), [St Michael's church](/source/St_Michael's_church,_Hekelgem), was a dependency of the abbey: the monastery collected two-thirds of the tithes, leaving a third to support a [curate](/source/Curate).[1] In 1525 there were 125 hearths in the village, but by 1686 only 76 households.[1] In the 1680s and 1690s, the village repeatedly suffered pillage and destruction during the French invasions of the [Nine Years' War](/source/Nine_Years'_War).[1] On 23 December 1792, in the aftermath of the French revolutionary army's victory in the [Battle of Jemappes](/source/Battle_of_Jemappes) on 6 November, the men of the village assembled and declared that they wished to remain Catholic and continue to live as a free people under the institutions of the Duchy of Brabant, rather than accept French rule.[2] Under French rule the village became a commune in the canton of Asse, as part of the [Department of the Dyle](/source/Dyle_(department)).[3] There were at the time four breweries and two gin distilleries in the village.[3] In 1846 the territory of the commune of Hekelgem was 809 hectares: 312 ha planted with cereal crops, 94 ha with industrial crops (such as [flax](/source/Flax) and [colza](/source/Colza)), 141 ha with beets and fodder, 81 ha of meadow, 5 ha of orchards, 7 ha of gardens, 46 ha of woodland, and 6 ha of heath and uncultivated land. The population was 2,021, in 375 households, of whom 513 were school-aged children and 276 on public relief.[1] ## Folklore - In the mid-19th century, on the Sunday following the [Feast of Saints Peter and Paul](/source/Feast_of_Saints_Peter_and_Paul) (29 June), the unmarried young women of the village would draw straws to select a [Rose Queen](/source/Rose_Queen) and a "Second Queen" to be crowned with roses.[4] ## Monuments - [Affligem Abbey](/source/Affligem_Abbey) - [St Michael's church, Hekelgem](/source/St_Michael's_church,_Hekelgem) ## References 1. [Alphonse Wauters](/source/Alphonse_Wauters), *Histoire des environs de Bruxelles*, vol. 1 (Brussels, 1855), pp. 514-518 1. *Proces Verbael ende Resolutie gehouden ende genomen door het Volck van den Dorpe van Hekelghem Lande van Assche* (1792) [on Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=oCs7AAAAcAAJ). 1. Charles Oudiette, *Le Département de la Dyle, ou Première partie du dictionnaire géographique et topographique, des neuf départemens de la Belgique* (Brussels, Armand Gaborria, 1798), p. 77. [On Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=dS5GAAAAcAAJ). 1. [Victor Coremans](/source/Victor_Coremans), *L'année de l'ancienne Belgique* (Brussels, 1844), p. 27. [On Google Books](https://books.google.com/books?id=gYxAAAAAYAAJ) ## External links - [Josua de Grave](/source/Josua_de_Grave), [The Village of Eickelgom](https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/4702) (1674) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hekelgem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hekelgem) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hekelgem?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.