Ohain City Map Poster

About Ohain

It is located in the Dyle valley, between the cities of Brussels and Leuven. The village was founded around a chapel built by Saint Géry (French: Saint-Géry) in 648. The name Ohain comes from Old Dutch "Odin" or "Othen", meaning 'the place where Odin/Wodan presides'. This refers to Wotan, chief god of Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. In French it is called Ognon after an old word for fire ("ogni").[1] In 1846, Jean-Baptiste André Godin developed a new technique for manufacturing wire mesh using iron wires.[2] He founded his company at this location which later became known as Usines de Lasne et d'Ohain (Lasne & Ohain Works). It was acquired by Cockerill Sambre et Meuse in 1963.