Brasschaat

The history of Brasschaat started with Celtic settlements. The Gallic tribe of the Belgae displaced them and were in turn conquered by the Romans, who built a major road in the area. After the Germanic invasions in the 3rd and 4th century, the whole region was Christianized. In the Middle Ages the little river Laar, flowing through the woods of the municipality, served as a natural bordermark between the Bishopric of Liège and the Bishopric of Cambrai.

The first mention of Breesgata, sometimes also spelt Brexgata, dates from 1269. In 1482, a convent of nuns was founded here, traces of which can still be seen today. The village of Brasschaat belonged geographically to the Campine region, but politically and ecclesiastically was part of the Bishopric of Liège until 1569. At that time, the village had about 4,500 inhabitants and 383 horses. The end of the 16th century was particularly hard on the population. In the span of 25 years, the wars between Catholics and Protestants greatly reduced the population to 420 people and 59 horses. At the end of the plague pandemic that struck the community in 1610, only 26 families were left. The guild of Sint-Antonius, currently still the oldest local association, was founded in 1667.

In 1823, Brasschaat became theoretically a municipality of its own, separate from Ekeren. It named its own mayor and municipal council the following year. Its independence would, however, be recognized only in 1830.

Because of its strategic position in the defence of the port of Antwerp, Brasschaat became an important military outpost during World War I. The Brasschaat fort, still visible today, was built in 1912. Between 1937 and 1939 the fortifications were expanded with additional bunkers and a large antitank ditch. Many of these old military buildings nowadays host colonies of bats.

In 1945, a school in Brasschaat run by Averbode Abbey was hit by a V-1 flying bomb, killing a monk and three priests.

The ancient Brexgata name is found in the designation of an international university association seated in Strasbourg (France). The name was chosen in homage to the municipality of Brasschaat; the organisation's historical research project was initiated in this town in 1999.