St. Margaret's Church

The current parish church, dedicated to Saint Margaret, was built in 1881 according to the plans of the Ghent architect Edmond De Perre-Montigny of 1877. This is the fifth church building of this polder village on the border with Zeeuws Vlaanderen, which was already mentioned in the first half of the 13th century. The first church stood near the current Dutch Island and disappeared with the great floods of 1375-76. A second church appeared after the reclamation and disappeared again in the so-called St. Elisabeth Flood of 1404. After the re-diking of the Sint-Kruispolder by Jan De Plaat in 1462, a new church was built in 1470 that lasted until 1570. A fourth church building was erected by the Ghent Saint Bavo Abbey in 1672 after long resistance from the States General of the United Provinces and the final separation. This church was located in the middle of the still existing cemetery to the east of the present church. This church building with square west tower was demolished in 1883 due to dilapidation, with the exception of the choir. The old choir was preserved as a calvary in the cemetery until 1971.

Onroerend Erfgoed Vlaanderen