The old presbytery, splendour of the Premonstratensians

The 'country lords' of the Premonstratensians, as the parish priests were called, were housed in well-thought-out and beautiful presbyteries. Here you only see the spacious rectangular main building with the entrance centrally placed. But until the middle of the last century, the presbytery actually covered almost the entire current parking lot with a walled garden and a few outbuildings. The fact that there was a coach house says something about the wealth of the time. The priest could walk through a gate in the back of the garden across the cemetery directly to the sacristy.

Above the entrance we see the coat of arms of Abbot Wouters, a sign of his power. The motto "Luce et candore" (Out of light and honesty) says something about how he thought of himself.

The presbytery remained inhabited until 1967. After that, the building quickly fell into disrepair and in 1975 the municipality had the building restored and in 1978 it was used as a town hall.

Jan Rymenams