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| Aalst |
Population : 82,587
Location: Aalst, Flanders, Belgium.
Area: 78.12 km2(30.16 sq mi)
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, Meldert, Moorsel, and Nieuwerkerken. Aalst is
crossed by the Molenbeek-Ter Erpenbeek in Aalst and Hofstade. The current mayor
of Aalst is Christoph D'Haese, from the New-Flemish Alliance party. The town
has a long-standing (folkloric) feud with Dendermonde (situated north along the
same river), which dates back from the Middle Ages.
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| Aalst |
The first historical records on Aalst date
from the 9th century, when it was described as the villa Alost, a dependency of
the Abbey of Lobbes. During the Middle Ages, a town and port grew at this
strategic point, where the road from Bruges to Cologne crossed the Dender.
While it was within the Holy Roman Empire it was considered the capital of the
province of Flanders. In 1046, Aalst was transferred to the Countship of
Imperial Flanders, and absorbed a portion of Brabant, and in 1173 it was united
with the remainder of the Flanders province. Its frontier position on the
border of the Holy Roman Empire allowed the town to keep a certain degree of
independence. Its relation with Brabant has been preserved in the city’s white
and red coat of arms, the colours of Lotharingia.
Street
View of Aalst
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