Nivelles

Nivelles is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The municipality takes in the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines and Monstreux, and the Nivelles arrondissement covers all the municipalities of Walloon Brabant. The city grew around a monastery: after the death of Pippin of Landen in 640, Saint Amand urged his widow Itta to found an abbey on their estate, and their daughter Gertrude became its first abbess and was later venerated as a saint. The Romanesque Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude, dedicated in 1046 and classified as a heritage site of Wallonia, still dominates the town. In the 13th century the town became part of the Duchy of Brabant. Almost the entire city centre was destroyed on 14 May 1940, and the rebuilt church was completed in 1984. Local traditions include processional giants, among them Goliath from 1365, and the tarte al d'jote, a local quiche.