Saint Trudo Church

The church in the Centre has Saint Trudo as its patron saint.
On top of the church is a beautiful Baroque tower that was built after a great village fire in 1679. The Romanesque substructure dates from around 1100 and still has the original one-and-a-half-metre-thick iron sandstone walls. Above the entrance door shows the coat of arms of the Abbey of Maagdendaal, two dolphins, a hexagonal star and a Latin motto. The shield is located above the entrance door and bears the date 1776. The proverb in Domino confido means trusting in God.

At the foot of the church tower, two hundred Brigands, who died during the Boer War, found a resting place in a mass grave. In the church, the former baptismal font served as a drinking trough for the French army horses that were tied to the communion rail. In 1898, village blacksmith Jan Cuypers forged the cross that is located in the corner of the cemetery. It commemorates the centenary of the Boer War.

In 1940, during the retreat of the Belgian army, the church was once again completely burnt out. It was rebuilt with war damage paid for by Germany in the period 1948-1967, including by architect L. De Graef (1948-1951). The interior was designed in the late 1960s by the Halle artist Camiel Colruyt (1908-1973). He had progressive ideas. Witness to this is a giant statue of the crucified Christ, smiling above all pain. Germany paid for the marble, copper and oak as compensation for the war damage. However, it was the Belgian army that had used straw and matches to eliminate this lookout post on 11 May 1940.

In 1976, the church and the cemetery wall were protected as a monument and landscape.

Eddy&Rita