The village was first mentioned in the 7th century as Athenneria. The etymology is unclear. The area has been inhabited since the
Roman era, and graves has been discovered dating between 50 and 150
AD. The old parish church was located on the Kapelleberg, a dune near the
Leie River, and was first mentioned in 1147. The village
heerlijkheid (landed estate) used to belong to the
Margraviate of
Deinze, but the area also contained several other smaller
heerlijkheden. In 1582, during the
Dutch Revolt, the village was destroyed except for three houses and the area was nearly depopulated. Around 1720, the road from
Ghent to
Kortrijk was constructed, and the centre moved from near the river to a
linear settlement along the road. In 1834, a new parish church was built along the road. and the village started to industrialise. There are several bunkers in the area from the 1930s which were constructed as part of a defensive line between the
Scheldt and the Leie. After World War II, Astene started to become a residential town. Astene was an independent municipality until 1971, when it was merged to
Deinze. == Buildings ==