Groot-Bijgaarden  Groot-Bijgaarden is a village and deelgemeente in the municipality of Dilbeek, a suburb of Brussels, in Flanders, Belgium. The name Bijgaarden is derived from the Germanic word for enclosure. The appellation "Great" (Groot) was attached to distinguish it from the smaller Klein-Bijgaarden nearby, now in the municipality of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. The earliest record of Groot-Bijgaarden is in the 12th century, when it appears as "Bigardis". This derives from the house of Bijgaarden. They made various contributions to the abbeys of Affligem and Groot-Bijgaarden. As a result of different marriages, the village come into the hands of the Veele Family, an important family from Brussels. After many donations, Groot-Bijgaarden was publicly sold to the counts of Königsegg-Erps in the second half of the 14th century. It is a former municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. Since 1977 it is a subdivision (deelgemeente) of the municipality of Dilbeek. Groot-Bijgaarden is situated between Dilbeek and Zellik. As of 31 December 2010 the population of Groot-Bijgaarden was 7591.