Our Lady of the Assumption

Kerknet

The parish Ertvelde split off from Assenede early in the 12th century. A house of worship was founded in 1119, a chapel in 1199. It took until the 13th century before it could be called a ‘church’.

Until 1570, the parish was part of the diocese of Utrecht, and after that of the diocese of Ghent. deanery of Evergem. Until 1648, religious wars and French wars of conquest in the 16th and 17th century made the church a target for destructions. In the middle of the 17th century, the church was restored after it had caught fire in 1585.

Since 1839, the church has three bells, of which 2 came from donations. In 1851, the church was enlarged after a design by Louis Minard (1801-1875) from Ghent. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was architecturally a three-aisled church with a crossing tower.

In 1918, during WWI, the tower, and in 1940 during WWII, the church were heavily dynamited. In 1951, it was decided that the church - with the exception of the choir - would be demolished up to a height of 3 meters.

The current church dates from 1954 and is a project by the architect Henri Vaerwyck (Ghent, 1850-1919). In 1951, two new bells were donated locally to restore what was lost in the war. In 2011, a new organ was purchased. Today the church can be characterized as a modern eight bays brick church under a gable roof with a high square western tower. Slightly jutting portal with gable wall, decorated with relief of the calvary by Oscar Sinia (Ghent, 1877-1956).

The three-sided enclosed choir that remains from the 16th century in sandstone was restored during the first quarter of the 17th century. Ogival triforas in between carved buttresses, choir windows renewed in 1792 and equipped with new stained glass windows in 1881.

Sacristy added to the north in sandstone, from the same construction period as the choir. One-aisled rectangular space arched over with a barrel vault, divided into transverse arches resting on a semicircular arcade. Pseudo side aisles with a coffered ceiling.

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