Mariakapel and Linde van Issegem

At the crossroads of Molenstraat and Issegem we find the Maria chapel of the hamlet of Issegem, located on the edge of the Ettingebos. The cabinet map of the Ferraris (1770-1778) shows both the tree and the chapel. The Maria chapel from 1637 stands in the shade of a majestic linden tree. The baroque pedestal chapel is partly built of Balegem stone. Logical choice of materials, the quarry is literally a stone's throw away. The Dutch winter lime is said to have been planted in the year of construction of the chapel. But based on, among other things, the trunk circumference, it is an^18th-century specimen. In 2010, the chapel and the lime tree were protected as a monument.

The linden tree is also seen as a protective tree, which is why it was often planted at the entrance of farms. Behind the chapel was formerly the court Van Der Spiegelen, one of the oldest farms in the village (now disappeared). This linden is also special because it is a genetically important cultivar of Dutch linden. The specific shape of the linden was obtained thanks to a specific pruning choice: Candlesticks or candelabra. Candlesticks are a historical pruning technique in which the branches are significantly shortened. The image of the tree changes so much that in winter the bare tree looks like a candlestick, with different arms (branches) in the air. Not all trees can withstand the strong pruning of the branches, but the linden is particularly suitable for this, just like the willow, for example.

According to tradition, a person sentenced to death escaped from the Galgeput in Balegem and hid in the lime tree, from where he attacked the passers-by. The passers-by thought there was a ghost in the tree. To quell the spirit, the chapel was built by the tree. After that, the ghost phenomena stopped.

Toerisme Oosterzele