Editing Jette (section)

===17th to 20th century===
During the [[Ancien Régime]], Jette was part of the town of [[Merchtem]], located in modern-day [[Flemish Brabant]]. In the 17th century, during the period of the [[Spanish Netherlands]], the Finance Minister under Archdukes [[Albert VII, Archduke of Austria|Albert]] and [[Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain|Isabella]] acquired and refurbished the old 12th-century [[Rivieren Castle]] in the village of [[Ganshoren]], near Jette. In 1654, the minister's son made this estate into a [[Barony (county division)|barony]], then five years later, into a [[county]], which included Jette and several neighbouring villages.

In the 1790s, the regime that was put in power by the [[French Revolution]] curtailed the religious freedoms drastically. The monks were expelled from the Abbey in 1796, and most of the buildings demolished the following year. Only the abbot's house was kept as a leisure house. In 1841, Ganshoren split from Jette. During the following decades, what remained of Jette gradually lost its rural character to become a suburb of Brussels. Its population, which was of around 10,000 in 1900 grew to more than 40,000 in 1971.