Saint-Materne Basilica, Gothic basilica in Walcourt, Belgium.

Saint-Materne Basilica is a Gothic church in Walcourt, Belgium, on a rocky spur about 30 metres above the confluence of the Eau d'Heure and Yves. Its 17th-century tower, with a square stone base, corner pinnacles and a dark slate spire topped by an openwork lantern, rises to 64 metres; the nave extends to the right, and a smaller slender spire stands behind it. The building is 53 metres long and 27 metres wide at the transept.

A first Romanesque building was consecrated in 1026 by the Bishop of Liege, marking the earliest origins of the church. Repeated fires between the 13th and 16th centuries led to major reconstruction work that gradually gave the building its Gothic character.

The lime-wood Madonna, radiocarbon-dated to about 957–1020, has been covered with silver plating since the 12th or 13th century and dressed in the Spanish manner since the 16th or 17th, giving it the look of a Black Virgin. It stands on the left transept altar, and an annual procession still links the basilica to the site of the former Jardinet abbey.

The basilica stands on a rocky spur about 30 metres above the confluence of the Eau d'Heure and Yves, so the approach climbs through the town. Inside, the nave has five bays flanked by two aisles; the ambulatory runs around the chancel and delimits the pentagonal apse. The treasury is kept in the presbytery, not in the church.

The choir stalls from the early 16th century have carved misericords on the undersides of their folding seats, showing scenes from everyday life with humor and satire. These small carvings are easy to miss unless you think to lift or crouch beneath the seats.