This modest hamlet on the Senne,
A ford on Roman Road
back when,
Once colonised by
Nervian tribe
Has a history based
on riverside.
Grimbergen Lord
and Brabant Duke
Competed for this strong
trade route;
Town privileges were
soon awarded
Towers and city
walls accorded.
Vast church – Our Lady
of Good Hope
Dominated town and
moat
‘Tuchthuis’* became
the duke’s domain
Through-traffic
brought much wealth and fame.
But the early cloth
trade rose and fell
As the sluggish
river lost its swell;
The Black Death
and religious strife
Reduced it to a
quiet life.
Repurposed castle then
turned jail
Famous on the
Bible trail,
Where William
Tyndale’s fine translation
With him faced sad
deflagration**…
Rail transport brought it back on stream
Then Renault cars left vast “usine”!
Now neoclassic town hall signs
These clearly ‘back-in-business’ times.
Its moat - the Hanssens Park today;
A STIB bus*** takes you all the way!
Its main square offers food and wine;
Its past quite lost in mists of time …
** in 1536
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