Brabant

Brabant is a former duchy in the Low Countries. The northern part, Noord-Brabant is now a province of the Netherlands, while the southern part comprises three provinces of Belgium, Antwerp, Walloon Brabant and Flemish Brabant.

The duchy of Brabant came into existence in 1190. In 1430, it was taken over by Philip the Good[?] of Burgundy, and in 1477 by the Hapsburgs. After the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the Netherlands gained independence and the northern part of Brabant was handed to the United Provinces of the Netherlands. The southern part remained in Hapsburgian hands, though it was transferred to the Austrian branch of that family in 1714. After French occupation, Brabant became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (consisting of modern day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. With the Belgian independence of 1830, Brabant became divided between the Netherlands and Belgium.

The international border between the Netherlands and Belgium in Brabant is of interest because it is the only international border which is not a continuous line. In demarcating the border, it was impossible to draw a continuous line and as a result parcels of land were assigned to the Netherlands and others were assigned to Belgium resulting in a non-continuous boundary.

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Brabant is a former province of Belgium, located roughly in the geographical centre of the country, comprising the southern part of the former duchy. In 1995, it was divided into two provinces, one Walloon (Walloon Brabant) and one Flemish (Flemish Brabant). Major cities include Halle and Leuven in Flemish Brabant, and Nivelles and Wavre in Walloon Brabant.