Zwijndrecht () is both a village and a municipality located in the Flemish province of Antwerp, in Belgium. As well as Zwijndrecht proper, the municipality includes the village of Burcht. In 2021, Zwijndrecht had a total population of 19,263.
History
Origin of the name
The name Zwijndrecht is derived from the old Germanic words "swina drifti." The words "swina" and "drifti" are synonyms and both mean creek. "Drifti" evolved from to ; the suffix – appears frequently in place-names north of the river Scheldt, where streams and creeks are abundant.
Early history
While very little archaeological excavation has been done in the municipality of Zwijndrecht itself, numerous findings have been documented in the surrounding region, which is referred to as the Waasland. These have indicated occupation in the area from as early as the end of the Neolithic Period (-1800 B.C.). Numerous indications of Roman occupation have also been uncovered in the Waasland area.
In the early Middle Ages, Zwijndrecht-Burcht was sparsely populated, its landscape consisting mainly of wet woodland and small settlements separated by forests. This situation remained until the latter half of the 11th century, when an increase in population necessitated changes in land use: the forests between settlements were cleared and fields were formed into communal agricultural spaces, using a three-course crop rotation system. These were referred to as "kouters" or ploughshares. Raised paths through the wetlands evolved into dikes, and by the 14th century, polders were in use.
Feudal Period
On April 15, 1281, the Count of Flanders, Gwijde van Dampierre, granted manorial rights to Nikolaas van Kets, making him Lord of Zwijndrecht. The seat of the Lords of Zwijndrecht was a manor house called the Kraaienhof (the ruins of which were demolished in the mid-20th century), which was located in what is now the village of Burcht. The van Kets held the manorial rights until 1445, when Wouter van Kets sold them to Jan Vilain. They passed by inheritance to the van Montmorency family. Due to financial pressures, the heir Filips II de Montmorency, Count of Horne (1524-1568) was forced to sell the title, property and rights to a conglomeration of four cities, Brugge, Gent, Ieper and the Brugse Vrije, known as the "Vier Leden" (four members). After rebelling against Spanish rule during the Eighty Years War, the Vier Leden were forced to forfeit the property to the Spanish crown in 1585, but it was later returned to them. The dikes and infrastructure were so badly damaged and neglected during the Eighty Years War, that the Vier Leden were forced to loan money for repairs and restoration from Jan van Hove. When the Vier Leden defaulted on the loan, the property, rights and title defaulted to Jan van Hove, making him the new Lord of Zwijndrecht-Burcht. Van Hove held the property until 1621, when the Staten van Vlaanderen (formerly the Vier Leden) was able to pay its debts and reacquire it. After regaining the property, the Staten van Vlaanderen promptly auctioned it off to the highest bidder, an Italian businessman named Jacomo Antonio Carenna, who then became Lord of Zwijndrecht and Burcht. In 1666, he divided the property between his two sons, Jan Francisco Carenna (Zwijndrecht) and Ignacius Carenna (Burcht). Burcht and Zwijndrecht became separate villages and remained so until they were reunited as the municipality of Zwijndrecht in 1977.
For the further history specifically of Burcht, see the article on Burcht.
Paulo Carenna, Lord of Zwijndrecht and grandson of Jacomo Carenna, auctioned off the property and title on Antwerp's historical Vrijdagmarkt in 1699. It was purchased by Jacques de Lannoy. It passed by inheritance through his daughter Anne Marie de Lannoy to his son-in-law, Daniel Gerardo Melijn in 1732. Daniel Malijn's heir was also a daughter, Anna Marie Isabella Melijn, and therefore her husband Louis Balthasar de Heuvel became Lord of Zwijndrecht. Louis Balthasar de Heuvel's son, Louis Charles Joseph de Heuvel, fought for his mother's inheritance in court as his father did not want to give it up to him. However, before the case could be resolved, the French Revolution and the resultant dissolution of feudal rights and titles made their legal conflict moot. At this point Louis Charles Joseph, who had become broken and paranoid of his father's wrath, became a vagabond. He died in a French prison in 1800.