Pilgrimage site Olsene Rotse

Place of pilgrimage so-called 'Olsene Rotse', situated on a triangular square between Machelenstraat and Kasteelstraat, which interrupts the avenue to the Castle of Olsene. The Marian grotto was erected as part of the revival of Marian devotion, which had gained momentum since the apparition of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in a grotto in Lourdes. This veneration was strengthened in Flanders from 1875 onwards by the miraculous healing of Pieter De Rudder in the Lourdes grotto of Oostakker. The Marian Grotto in Olsene is one of the earliest examples of a local interpretation of a Lourdes grotto. It was made as a gift from the Piers de Raveschoot family, owner and builder of the castle of Olsene. Constant Malfait, the mason of the castle, was responsible for the realization together with his son Jules. On May 28, 1876, the cave was consecrated by the bishop of Ghent, H.J. Bracq, as mentioned on an indulgence sign on a brick wall in front of the cave to the left.

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