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Forest / Vorst (Municipality, Region of Brussels-Capital, Belgium)

Last modified: 2007-11-24 by ivan sache
Keywords: forest | vorst |
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[Flag of Forest / Vorst]

Municipal flag of Forest / Vorst - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 6 June 2005


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Presentation of Forest / Vorst

Forest (in French) / Vorst (in Dutch) (48,281 inhabitants on 1 January 2007, 625 ha) is one of the 19 municipalities forming the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital.

Forest / Vorst was originally located in a ... forest. The name of the municipality was derived from Forestis Silva, the Royal Forest (in fact the hunting domain of Duke of Brabant).
The patron saint of Forest / Vorst is St. Alène. She is said to have lived at the time of the conversion of the Franks to Christianity (VI-VIIIth century), but her cult is known in Forest only since the end of the XIIth century.
Alène was the daughter of a pagan lord. She was a Christian and left one night her father's castle in order to go to mass in the chapel of Forest. The lord ordered his guards to follow her; when Alène reached the river Senne, she walked on the water. The guards warned the lord, who said his daughter was bewitched by Christians and ordered the guards to bring her home. Alène refused to follow the guards, who took out one of her arms. An angel showed up, picked up the arm, and put it down on the altar of the chapel. Alène's parents, convinced by the miracle, became Christian and the relics of St. Alène became a popular place of pilgrimage. St. Alène is still invoked today against toothache.
A Benedictine Convent ruled the village of Forest / Vorst from 1099 to 1796.

Source: Municipal website

Ivan Sache, 6 June 2005


Municipal flag of Forest / Vorst

The municipal flag of Forest / Vorst, as confirmed by the municipal administration, is vertically divided green-white.

Arnaud Leroy, 6 June 2005