Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud (; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (including the hamlet of Sart-Moulin), Lillois-Witterzée, and Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. Bordering Flanders, the town is home to a minority of Dutch speakers. The famous Lion of Waterloo, where the eponymous battle took place, is in the territory of Braine-l'Alleud. History. Middle Ages. Several archaeological finds point to prehistoric settlements in this area. The first historical mention of a parish on Braine-l'Alleud's current territory, then  called "Dudinsart", dates from 1131, date at which Godfrey I, Duke of Brabant ceded it to the Abbey of Gembloux. The Duke, however, still owned exempt land (or franchise) on this territory, as specified in a legal document by Henry I dated 1197. The name of the municipality changed to the current one, derived from “Braine”, former name of the stream that crosses its territory (now called the “Hain”), and “alleu(d)”, a medieval French word designating exempt land (English "allod"). The latter name was added to the former to distinguish this community from two neighbouring ones also called Braine. At  the beginning, the franchise might not have been much more than a right to local administration. By 1489, however, the local lord enjoyed complete juridical power on its territory, which was still formally part of the fiefdom obtained from the Duke of Brabant. Battle of Waterloo. In 1815, part of the fighting that took place at the Battle of Waterloo actually occurred on the territory of Braine-l’Alleud. The town's church of Saint-Étienne became a field hospital. Sport. Braine l'Alleud is home to RCS Braine football club, notable for training youngsters, including Belgium and Chelsea star Eden Hazard . The city also has a successful women's basketball club, BC Castors Braine. The free-to-play, 18-hole Parc du Bourdon disc golf course is situated 1 kilometer from Braine L'Alleud train station. It is served by the following 10 bus lines: International relations. Twin towns – Sister cities. Braine-l'Alleud is twinned with: