Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

Eksaarde is said to have been Christianized by Amandus van Gent as early as the 7th century (4) and became a separate parish in 1230. The current church dates from this last period. Since Eksaarde as a border municipality was fully on the front line during the Wars of Religion(2), the passage of the Geuzen(1) was devastating for the Romanesque church. Many repairs were carried out in the course of the 17th century.

Eksaarde-Dorp 9160 Eksaarde (Lokeren)

Christianization (4)
The starting signal for the Christianization or Christianization of our regions was the conversion of the Frankish king Clovis in the 5th century, which elevated Christianity to the state religion. In order to convert the pagan population, dedicated missionaries were sent to found abbeys here and there as fortresses of Christianity. These actions only became successful from the 7th -8th century. An important missionary for East Flanders was Amandus. In the 7th century he founded the powerful Ghent abbeys of Sint-Pieters and Sint-Baafs. From here he converted Flanders along the Scheldt.

After your visit to the church, follow the Liniewegel (5) to the Chapel of the Cross. This route is indicated by diamond-shaped signs and goes along the rear of the church into the Kasteeldreef. You can also take the cycle route to the Chapel of the Cross.

The Line (5)
The line was a military defensive line built by the French in 1701-1702. They had taken Flanders during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Spanish monarch, ruler of present-day Belgium, died childless. Through clever marriage policy, the inheritance threatened to go to French crown. The powerful countries of present-day Europe could not allow the warlike French Empire to expand to such an extent and supported the Habsburg dynasty or the Austrians in their claim to the inheritance. In the end, the French Empire could not compete with the combined forces of its neighbors.

Stichting Open Kerken