Sint-Anna-Pede

Sint-Anna-Pede is a village in Itterbeek, which is a deelgemeente of Dilbeek. It gets its name from the Pedebeek, the stream that flows through the village.^[1]

Sint-Anna-Pede got already mentioned in the first half of the 12th century as "Pethe"; later also as "capelle beatissima Anna in Peda" and as "apud Pede juxta nova capella", which means that probably there was an older building at the same site. ^[2]

Attractions

• the Sint-Anna Church : 13th century roman church, restaured in the 17th century in the gotic style. It is depicted on The Blind leading the blind, a painting by Pieter Brueghel the elder. Protected since 1948. ^[3]
• the Bruegel Museum: 12 large reproductions of landscapes by Pieter Brueghel, who came to the area looking for inspiration.
• the Zeventien bruggen (seventeen bridges): a concrete viaduct of 520m long and 28 m high across the valley of the Pedebeek. Sixteen of the bridges are part of the viaduct, while the seventeenth bridge lies under one of the arches.
• the Klein Sint-Anna-kasteeltje (Small Saint-Anna Castle): Castle where according to the legend Charles V of Spain, Brueghel and Louis Quatorze would have slept.

References

1. ^ Text on the Sint-Anna Church and the village, in Dutch [1]
2. ^ Text on the Sint-Anna Church and the village, in Dutch [2]
3. ^ Website of tourist board of Dilbeek, in Dutch [3]