St. Peter's Church

The current St. Peter's Church is a reconstruction from 1922 by architect T. Raison. The neo-Gothic original from 1872 was completely destroyed during World War I. It is a rather small church. Above the entrance portal is a statue of the patron saint of the church, St. Peter. In his hands, one can see the key that grants access to paradise.
St. Peter's Chapel was separated from the Suthanageul (to the north) by a stone dam in the first half of the 12th century. This was probably located not far north of the church, but for now, this dam has not yet been rediscovered. The dam was also known as the Stone Bridge and High Bridge. It is evident that a dam could also be used as a bridge, which immediately explains the double name. There must have been a drainage sluice in or next to the Steendam, which discharged the water from the remaining water flow of the Suthanageul behind the dam (the current Bazelaargeleed) into the open channel bed in front of the dam.
Before a chapel was built in the village, it was called Honkevliete or Houkevliete, which means 'the little village in the corner of the creek.' It was only in the first half of the 13th century that the name St. Peter's Chapel emerged.
The St. Peter's Chapel was founded around 1200 by a certain Gela near the hamlet of Honkevliete. The chapel was part of a newly established Cistercian abbey, Abbey Nieuwland. This name referred to its location on newly reclaimed land, newly drained land that, according to the wilderness regal, belonged to the counts of Flanders. Gela likely acquired this land through a count's donation.
Throughout the 13th century, this chapel would grow into the parish church of St. Peter's Chapel, which was considered part of the mother parish Gistel.

Toerisme Middelkerke