Saint William's Church

The village name Wilskerke and the patron saint of the parish church both refer to a certain William. A text from 1201 refers to Willekins Capella. This chapel was likely established as a tribute to William Bron, the illegitimate brother of Philip of Alsace, who was partly responsible for the reclamation of the Testerep channel.
Presumably, the chapel was built in an older hamlet, on or at the edge of the Hoge Dijkweg. This older hamlet was probably no more than a few houses large. Later in the 13th century, the chapel evolved into an independent parish church; previously, Wilskerke was a subsidiary parish of the mother parish Leffinge.
The church that still stands today is a reconstruction by architect Theo Raison from after the First World War. Against the southern side wall hangs an 18th-century wooden statue of Christ under a canopy, and against the east wall, there is a grotto of Mary. There are also several valuable pieces to be found in the interior, including neo-Gothic confessionals and stained glass windows.
At the entrance to the cemetery, there has been a statue of Flerus since 1983, the devil's servant who haunted the Fleriskot farm.

Toerisme Middelkerke