Heist-op-den-Berg

Heist-op-den-Berg () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Heist-op-den-Berg proper (including the hamlets: Heist-Goor, Heist-Station, Zonderschot, Heist-Centrum and Bruggeneinde), the villages of (including the hamlet Pijpelheide), , , and .

==History== The 48-meter-high hill on which Heist would later be built (hence the adjunct name op-den-Berg meaning "on the hill") was formed during the early part of the Ice age. As can be appreciated from the artifacts shown at the regional museum on the town's main square, this area was already populated in prehistoric times. Soon after the Romans yielded this land to the invading Germanic peoples in the 3rd and 4th century, Christianization followed. The village of Itegem, located right on the Nete River, was most likely the first hamlet to be founded, as suggested by a document dating from 976. Chapels in Hallaar and Itegem were built in the 12th century. This century also marked the beginnings of the Duchy of Brabant, of which this whole area was a part.