Send Gift Baskets to Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium

Numerous archaeological finds in this area indicate prehistoric settlements. A parish on Braine-l’Alleud’s current territory, then called Dudinsart, is first mentioned in 1131, when Godfrey I, Duke of Brabant, ceded it to the Abbey of Gembloux. Nevertheless, the Duke still owned exempt land (or franchise) on this territory, according to a legal document dated 1197. The municipality’s name was changed to the current one from ‘Braine,’ an old name for the stream through its territory (now called ‘Hain’), and ‘alleu(d),’ an exempt land designation (English allotment). The last name was added to the former to differentiate this community from two neighboring ones with the same name.

Early on, the franchise was no more than a local administration right. It wasn’t until 1489 that the local lord enjoyed complete juridical control over his territory, which was still formally part of the fiefdom he had obtained from the Duke of Brabant.