St. Martin's Church Massemen

The church of Massemen is one of the oldest churches in Wetteren. Its history begins in the 11th century when it was still a place of worship for St Bavo's Abbey in Ghent. What the medieval church looked like is not certain. The old church was badly damaged by two heavy fires in the 16th century, so that the current church mainly dates from the early 17th century. On the rood screen of the church is a Van Peteghem organ (10) from 1738.

On the village square you can hardly miss the old lime tree (13). The tree has a diameter of 5.7m and is no less than 9.5m high. After much speculation, the age of the tree was determined to be about 400 years old by means of a C-14 date!

Village square 9230 Massemen (Wetteren)
To visit:
Daily: 09h-17h (closed Sunday afternoon)

Van Peteghem organ (10)
The name Van Peteghem is a true concept in the world of organ builders. The family was in the business for 4 generations! Pieter Van Peteghem, the founder of the organ builder dynasty, was originally from Wetteren. He was fascinated by the profession when the organ was made in Wetteren in 1722 and the organ builder, Gilliam Davit, stayed with the family. After gaining experience at J.B. Forceville in Brussels, the family eventually settled in Ghent.

Lime tree (13)
It is not unusual for a lime tree to stand in the middle of a village square. The tree symbolizes the solidarity of a community. It was therefore often planted on a special day for a village community, such as the consecration of a church. Already among the Celts and the Germanic peoples, the lime tree was seen as a sacred tree because the goddess Freya was said to live in it. Since the tree is also a symbol of fidelity and love, it used to be customary to conclude marriages under the lime tree and the thumbs of the lovers were pressed into the bark

Stichting Open Kerken