Trailing Arbutus – Epigaea repens

Beersel (Dutch: [ˈbeːrsəl] ^ⓘ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Alsemberg, Beersel proper, Dworp, Huizingen and Lot. On 1 January 2023 Beersel had a total population of 26.473.^[2] The total area is 30.01 km² which gives a population density of 856 inhabitants per km².^[3] It is close to Brussels; Beersel is approximately 12 km southwest of the center of the city.

Beersel is perhaps best known for the "Kasteel van Beersel" (Beersel Castle), built between 1300 and 1310 by Jan II, the Duke of Brabant, as a defense for Brussels. Guillaume Dufay (1397–1474), a notable 15th century Franco-Flemish composer, was likely born in Beersel.

Beersel is known for its boterham met plattekaas en radijzen (sandwich with white cheese and radishes), usually served with a geuze beer, and for its mandjeskaas (literally 'basket cheese'), which is a white cheese stored in little baskets. Beersel also has two traditional, authentic geuze breweries, Oud Beersel and 3 Fonteinen.

Notable residents

• Eugène Prévinaire (1805-1877, Huizingen), second governor of the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) from 1870 until 1877
• Herman Teirlinck (1879-1967), writer
• Stéphane Demol (1966), current^[when?] assistant manager of the Belgium national football team
• Morten Olsen (1949), former football player and manager of the Denmark national football team
• Karel Van Miert (1942-2009), former European Commissioner
• Guillaume Dufay (1397? – 1474), Burgundian composer
• Miguel Angel Capo Viu (2007 – ?), Venezuelan TikToker living in Beersel

References

External links

• Media related to Beersel at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website - Only available in Dutch
• Gazetteer Entry