Sint-Martinuskerk, Parish church in Herzele, Belgium
Sint-Martinuskerk is a parish church in Herzele with a square tower positioned facing east, stone pillars that support wooden ribbed vaults running through the nave, and side chapels throughout. The grounds contain a partly walled cemetery filled with old gravestones and a yellow brick neo-Romanesque building used as a morgue.
The earliest written records of the church date back to 972, and it was transferred to the Abbey of Saint-Ghislain in 1147 under the authority of Lord Boudewijn van Herzele. A major renovation in 1913 integrated older structural parts and reshaped the building into its current form.
The stained glass windows inside show biblical scenes and stories of saints created by artists Hendrik Coppejans and Michel De Loore. These colored glass artworks fill the interior with light and detail as you walk through the space.
The site is best reached on foot and opens onto a public square that is easy to access from the town center. The cemetery surrounding the building can be walked through comfortably and invites quiet exploration.
The bell tower has uneven sound holes on each side, a result of how older building pieces were joined together during the 1913 renovation. These irregular openings become visible when you walk around the outside of the tower and show the layered history of how the building was pieced back together.
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