Saint Martin's Church

This protected, late Gothic church is located in the center of Overijse along the old connection road Brussels-Namur. St. Martin is the typical patron saint of churches founded before the year 800.
This cross-shaped church was built in sandstone. The tower has a Romanesque core dating back to the 12th century. The choir was erected after a fire in 1489. The remaining parts were restored in the 17th and 18th centuries after a second fire struck. During the first disaster, three hundred people died, and in the second, a large part of the village was laid to ashes.
In the high choir, a gravestone provides access to the burial vault of the Van Horne family. In the sacristy, the family tree and its connection to the Belgian royal family are explained. Elsewhere, you will find the gravestone of Maria Lips, sister of Justus Lipsius, the famous humanist and professor in Leuven.
Further in the interior: a stone baptismal font from the 16th century with the coat of arms of the lords of Wittem, two granite holy water fonts, two Baroque side altars in marbled wood, and six confessionals. The sandstone altar and the oak choir stalls are both Neo-Gothic.
The paintings in the transepts date from the 18th and 19th centuries and feature various subjects: the Emmaus disciples, the Crucifixion, Saint Helena recognizing the true Cross, and Our Lady presenting the Rosary to Saint Dominic. The statue of St. Martin in the left transept was a gift from the Overijse veterans of World War I.
The three beautiful stained glass windows by J.-B. Capronnier behind the main altar tell the story of St. Martin. On the left side of the choir, there is a modern stained glass window from 1987 by local artist Jean Rigaux.

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