Statue of Sidronius Hosschius

farmer who lived in the Groenestraat. In Merkem, the young Syderoen went to school in the convent of the Jesuits. He also took care of the sheep. A few years later he went to the college of Mechelen to study Latin. At the age of 20 he joined the Jesuit order. In the 17th century he wrote a lot of poetry, in long and heavy verses. In it, he mainly talked about God, nature and ancient Rome. This Jesuit became world famous as a practitioner of Latin poetry. His name, as with most scholars of his time, was Latinized to "Sidronius Hosschius".

In 1844 he was given a statue at the church, which was inaugurated with a large festive programme. Unfortunately, the bust disappeared during WWI. According to certain sources, the Germans would have processed it into war material... However, the pedestal that served as a village pump remained at the church ruins. In 1917, after the recapture of Merkem, Flemish soldiers had painted the following with red paint: "Here our blood! When do we have the right?". Because the stone lay flat after the liberation, it remained unnoticed at the church for sixteen years. Fortunately, the Yser Pilgrimage Committee had a photo of this stone. As a result, the pedestal became famous and people started the search. Coincidentally, Clem De Landtsheer, then secretary of the Yser Pilgrimage Committee, came across the footing. Finally, on 7 February 1934, the Yser Pilgrimage Committee received permission to move the stone to the crypt of the Yser Tower, where it can still be seen today. In 1986, Sidronius Hosschius was given a new statue.

Contact details:
- Statue of Sidronius Hosschius
- On the corner of Stationsstraat and Boterbloemstraat, 8650 Merkem
- Web: www.houthulst.be

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