The life of Saint Alena, the 7th-century martyr daughter of a lord of Dilbeek, was set in Dilbeek and Forest. The historical facts of her life, however, are disputed. In Carolingian times, Dilbeek and its neighbouring villages were part of the pagusBracbatensis. This territory, ruled by the Lords of Aa in Anderlecht, was integrated into the Landgraviate of Brabant by the counts of Leuven around 1085. The first mention of the name Dedelbeccha dates from 1075, while the name Bigardis, later transformed into Groot-Bijgaarden, dates from 1110. Bigardis was originally a dependency of the Abbey of Saint Bavo in Ghent, but by 1125, nuns under the leadership of :fr:Wivine de Grand-Bigard|Saint Wivina had founded a religious community there. Around 1183, the landgraviate became the Duchy of Brabant, within which Dilbeek remained as an independent parish until the French Revolution.
The area's parishes belonged to the see of Cambrai until 1559, when they were placed under the administration of the Archbishop of Mechelen. Also in the 16th century, Dilbeek, Itterbeek and Sint-Martens-Bodegem were placed under the local rule of the Lords of Gaasbeek. The following decades were marked by the wars that opposed Catholics and Protestants, which resulted in the ruin of the Abbey of Groot-Bijgaarden. The final dismantlement and sale of the buildings took place during the French regime in the 1790s.
Events
Each of the six communes that make up the current municipality organizes several annual fairs and kermesses.
Every spring, a tulip festival takes place in Dilbeek.
Each summer the Vijverfestival, where Flemish bands perform on a floating stage, takes place at the pond behind the town hall in Dilbeek proper.
Sights
The imposing castle of Groot-Bijgaarden was built in 1640 around a 14th-century keep. Nearby is the Sint-Wivina domain, where ruins of the original abbey still stand.
Dilbeek's local authority offices, also known as the de Viron Castle, was built in 1863 in Tudor-style on the ruins of a 14th-century fortification. One of the medieval towers, the Sint-Alenatoren, can still be seen in the park surrounding the current building. On his visit to this fort, Charles V was reportedly served rabbit instead of his favourite hare, which resulted in the nickname konijnenfretters for the inhabitants of Dilbeek. Several other buildings of interest can also be found in the park
The rural communes contain numerous old farms, including Het Neerhof, a 13th-century building that belonged to the abbey of Forest.
The tower of the Sint-Ambrosiuskerk dates from the same century.
Dilbeek also houses an interesting tram museum, tracing the history of this local mode of transportation since its beginning in 1887.
The village of Sint-Gertrudis-Pede is the location of the Payottenland's only working watermill, a centuries-old building that has been thoroughly renovated in the eighties and nineties.
