Brabant

 

(Fr. bräbäN', Du. bräbänt') , former province, central Belgium. The region is drained by the Dijle, Senne, and Demer rivers. Much of its soil is fertile and under cultivation, and industry is prevalent. Belgian Brabant occupies the southern part of the former duchy of Brabant. In 1995 it was split into two provinces—Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant (1995 pop. 999,186), 813 sq mi (2,106 sq km), with its capital at Louvain, and French-speaking Walloon Brabant (1995 pop. 339,062), 421 sq mi (1,091 sq km), with its capital at Wavre (1995 pop. 29,906). The Brussels capital region is surrounded by, but not part of, Flemish Brabant.

Historically, Brabant has been the name of several administrative entities in the Low Countries with quite different geographical extent:

• The Carolingian pagus Bracbatensis, located between the rivers Scheldt and Dijle between the 9th and 11th century;
• Brabant (landgraviat), the part of the pagus between the rivers Dender and Dijle (from 1085/1086 up to 1183/1184);
• Duchy of Brabant: territory established in 1183-84, covering approximately the present Dutch province North Brabant and the three Belgian provinces Antwerp, Walloon Brabant and Flemish Brabant, and the Brussels-Capital Region.
• Brabant (province) in Belgium, which in 1995 was split up into Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant.
• North Brabant, a province of the Netherlands.
• East Brabant, the Brabant area East of Brussels, also referred to as the Hageland (= the area between the 4 cities Leuven, Aarschot, Diest and Tienen)
• Klein Brabant, the municipalities Bornem, Puurs and Sint-Amands in the Antwerp province of Flanders.

Along the international border between the Netherlands and Belgium there are a few enclaves and exclaves, as relicts of the old duchy of Brabant: the municipalities Baarle-Hertog (Belgium) and Baarle-Nassau (Netherlands).

See also

• The Brabant massacres 1982–85, a series of unexplained terrorist attacks in Belgium, linked to the Nijvel gang and the Belgian stay-behind network.
• Brabantic, a dialect of the Dutch language.
• Brabant, West Virginia, USA.
• Not all Belgian (horse)s are referred to as Brabant, only those originating from West-Brabant.
• Brabant Island, in Antarctica
• Le Morne Brabant, Mountain on Mauritius

nds-nl:Braobant

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