HULDENBERG

The oldest mentioning of Huldenberg in written form has been dated to 1140. At that time, the written form was "Hyldeberg", which is of Germanic origin, meaning mountain slope. Huldenberg was established as a private fief for a ministerial family by the Duke of Lower Lorraine/Brabant for military service given to the Duke. The lords of this fief were given a limited amount of judicial and governmental authority over the land. Other estates with in this area were established, these being Ten Bossche and Ten Ganspoele. Ten Bossche remained a solid farming operation through the centuries, while the land of Ten Ganspoele eventually vanished by about 1500. The name remained however, and is now attached to an institute for the extraordinary education of blind and vision impaired children.

The people of Huldenberg were loyal to the Dukes of Lower Lorraine and Brabant, providing a number of soldiers for the Duke's army. The most notable figure of the van Huldenberg family was undoubtedly Hendrik van Huldenberg. He delivered a memorable act of feudal loyalty to Duke Hendrik I van Brabant (1165-1235) in the battle of the Steps near Montenaken, October 13, 1213. During the battle, the Brabant a portion of the army under the leadership of Duke Hendrik I van Brabant was encircled by the army of the Prince-bishop Hugo de Pierrepont of Liege. Duke Hendrik would have been taken or killed in battle if not for the heroic actions of Hendrik van Huldenberg. Hendrik van Huldenberg broke though the Liege army with reinforcements, and in a high act of loyalty, exchanged his battle steed with that of the Duke. Duke Hendrik was then able to escape the trap and survive the battle. Hendrik van Huldenberg was not as fortunate, as the Liege army fell upon the reinforcements, killing him.

From the middle ages on, Huldenberg, and the hamlet of Smeyersberg, or Smeisberg, were ruled jointly. The hamlet of Wolfshagen would remain as a private fief until the end of the 18th century. Following the van Huldenberg family, the land of Huldenberg passed to the control of several other families, van Duras, van Houthem, de Streignaert (1564) and van Rijckenaert (1677). The manor was purchased in 1714 by Claudius-Eugenius de Baudequin, Lord of Peutie and head mayor of Vilvoorde. In 1808 Theodour de Baudequin de Peuthy (1779-1863) became mayor of Huldenberg, and remained so until 1854.

Initially Huldenberg was a subordinate to the church in Neerijse, itself dependant on the Benedictine monastery of Corbie in northern France. The Huldenberg parish gained its independence from Neerijse about 1250, the time when the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw church was constructed. However, the Monastery of Corbie still had the patronage and tithe rights until 1562. At that time oversight of the parish changed to the Augustinian Monastery in Groenendaal, in the Zonien Woods of Hoeilaart. The monastery continued to service the spiritual needs of the parish until 1821, when the pastor Andreas Moerenhoudt died. The Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Church was damaged twice by fires, once in 1578, and then again about 1734/35.

Since the middle ages, Huldenberg was a prosperous farming community, and it practiced wine growing on a limited scale on the favorably inclined valley slopes. Experiments by Felix Sohie conducted in the conservatory of the manor garden of Huldenberg laid the basis for grape cultivation under glass (in greenhouses). By 1865, the farming methods, and landscape were altered as growers adjusted to this practice.

last updated 4/27/06