Saint Ursmarus Church Baasrode

The parish church is surrounded by a small, cobblestone-paved square with parking spaces on the north side and the public road on the south side. This church square is bordered to the northeast by the Scheldt. Apparently, the church originated in relation to the Scheldt ferry and the Scheldt navigation. To the north, it bordered the unloading quay by the Scheldt, to the west at the mouth of the Vliet (now filled in) that served as a river harbor, to the east lay the ferry, and to the south the road Dendermonde - Mechelen. The unloading quay was always owned by the church.
In 1139, the territory of Baasrode St. Ursmarus was mentioned for the first time when the bishop of Cambrai donated the parish to the abbey of Affligem. From the abbey, a monk was probably sent to Baasrode to build a first church. This church was dedicated to Our Lady. How this church looked exactly is unknown. Due to the increase in the number of believers, it became too small. Around 1500, a new Gothic church with a double transept and a west tower was built on the same site where the current church is located. This church was dedicated to St. Ursmarus. The tower had a narrow Gothic spire and was surrounded by four corner towers, with two belfry openings on each side. Over time, the parish church had to endure many hardships. For example, the church building was severely damaged during the siege of Baasrode in 1578 by Walloon troops. Subsequently, the entire parish suffered from repeated fires and wars and the church could not be restored due to a lack of funds. It was not until 1677, during Pastor Jan Poelman’s time, that the church was restored and a new spire in Renaissance style was placed on the tower. After wartime difficulties in the mid-18th century, the church was enlarged and renovated in 1779. Already in 1828, the existing building was found to be too small again, and after gathering the necessary funds, the church was expanded in 1830 by the construction of a new chancel, driven by Pastor Gillis Van Oosthuyse (1789-1874). The renewed church was re-consecrated in 1832 by the Ghent bishop Joannes Van de Velde. In 1837, the old cemetery surrounding the church was cleared, and a new burial ground was established outside the village center. Around 1838, the church was whitewashed at the initiative of Pastor De Mulder (1838-1842): "first, the walls were scraped down, and then at least three times whitewashed, each time after drying." The sacristy, the room under the tower, the vestry, and the border around the church were also painted. Given that the vault of the church was in poor condition, it was restored in 1884, and the church was whitewashed again.
Since 1887, regular repair work was carried out on the roof of the west tower and the nave. However, the problems were not completely solved, as in 1896, the vault in the church was found to be in very poor condition, and pieces of plaster even fell down. In 1898, a lightning rod was placed on the tower, and additional work on the slate roof was planned.
In 1910, plans grew to establish a new parish church in the "New Quarter." The church fabric had received the Smekens legacy, which involved not only a house for the assistant pastor but also a significant sum of money. As arguments, it was stated that the current church was too small, that it was at times inaccessible because it was surrounded on all sides by "the waters of the Scheldt," and moreover, the church building was in very poor condition, with sinking floors and hardly any window intact. Architect J. Goethals from Aalst was charged with the project, and in 1912 he delivered the plans and specifications for the construction of the new parish church, but the project was not implemented due to the outbreak of World War I. Only the west tower, which was severely damaged during the war, was replaced by the current tower in 1921.
The tower was restored between 1970 and 1974. In 2001, the exterior of the entire church building was restored.

Stichting Open Kerken