St. Martin's Church

It is not possible to find out when a first church or chapel was located in Schelderode. It is certain that there was a chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine, whose altar belonged to the Ghent St. Peter's Abbey. At that time, the chaplain was dependent on the pastor of Bottelare. In the 14th century there was already a single-aisled church on the site of the current church, of which the north transept with the Chapel of Our Lady remains. The octagonal celebration or cross tower in baking and sandstone dates from the 15th century and has been a protected monument since 12 May 1947.
In 1695 the chapel was elevated to parish status and the then existing, single-aisled church was dedicated to Saint Martin. Marcus De Laet became the first pastor. After this, a nave was built in Gothic style.
In 1730 the relics of Saint Blaise from Bottelare were transferred to Schelderode. The north transept was extended with a transept in 1764, but this was not incorporated into the church until 1880. Around 1870 the church consisted of a choir, a central nave with nave, a chapel of Our Lady with transept and a small sacristy. At that time Florimond Van de Poele made new sketches to renovate the church. Only after his death (in 1875) were these realized in 1878 by architect Auguste Van Assche. This gave the church a beautiful, uniform neo-Gothic appearance.
The church has been a protected monument since 9 July 1997, after which a thorough restoration took place in 2006.

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