Taxi & shuttle to Zaventem National airport [BRU]

The ancient history of Zaventem dates back to Neolithic and Roman times. From the burial remains, it became clear that the area was also inhabited during the times of the Frankish Empire and the Merovingian dynasty. Zaventem was part of the county of Ukkel and the county of Leuven successively before it was added to the Duchy of Brabant. Around the XNUMXth century, Zaventem belonged to the abbey of Nivelles.

The village center arose at the crossroads of two important roads between Vilvoorde and Tervuren, and between Brussels and Erps, with the church in the center of the growing village. The parish was established before the ninth century, but the church, which was named after the patron saint Saint Martin, came to belong to the abbey of Nivelles at the end of the ninth century. In 1147, the right of ownership was transferred to the diocese of Cambrai. The parish remained dependent on this diocese until 1559, after which the Archdiocese of Mechelen took over.

Originally there was a large forest northwest of Zaventem called Saventerlo where the Dukes of Brabant used to go hunting. The area was largely deforested in the 17th century. Nevertheless, Zaventem remained primarily agricultural for most of the 13th century, but its industrial activities extend to at least the XNUMXth century. During this time, several water mills were installed on the Woluwé river which were then converted into paper mills.

At first the river had a lot of bends along its way to Zaventem which made the supply of energy from the power of the water quite difficult. In 1208, Godfrey, Duke of Brabant gave the order to modify and raise the way of the Woluwé river so that the watermills would be supplied with a sufficient quantity of water. This greatly benefited the paper industry later in the 18th and 19th century.

source: Zaventem region