There was already a church in ‘Ackerghem’ in the 10th century. It was a very rural area at the time, just outside Ghent’s city walls. Founded in the year 941, the church was consecrated in 942 by Bishop Transmarus from the diocese of Noyon-Tournai. This church, under the patronage of St Bavo's Abbey, was the first parish church outside the city walls, making it one of the oldest parish churches in Ghent. It is dedicated to St Martin, Bishop of Tours, and reflects his mission and evangelism in the countryside.
Today this rural landscape has completely disappeared, and the western façade of St Martin’s Church looks out over the busy Ghent ring road, on the site of the former city walls. Its location on ‘Einde Were’, meaning the outermost edge of a defensive wall, still makes an etymological reference to its original surroundings.
Throughout its long history, St Martin’s Church has preserved its status as an important historical and cultural monument. Despite undergoing significant modifications in the Neo-Gothic period, much of its Baroque interior has been conserved, such as the Baroque architectural ornamentation of the choir, a unique baptistry and the seven 17th-century portico altars, featuring important works by painters such as Gaspard de Crayer (1584-1669) and François Pilsen (1700-1786).
The church has been a protected monument since 13 October 1943.
In one word: cultural and historical►
Thanks to its long history as one of the oldest parish churches in Ghent, St Martin’s is of rich cultural and historical value.
The church has undergone several rounds of renovation ensuing from the many disasters it has suffered: the great fire in 1123, the first outbreak of iconoclasm in 1567-68 in which the Geuzen destroyed most of the interior, and finally the church’s almost complete destruction under the Calvinist Republic of Ghent (1577-1584). To make matters worse, restorations were hampered by two serious storms that affected the church in 1606 and 1613. Definitive reconstruction began in the early 17th century, partly thanks to a tax on the sale of wine that Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella imposed to fund the project, resulting in the church we see today.
A miracle involving the blood of Christ in 1354 led to the establishment of a Chapel of the Holy Blood and a confraternity that a yearly procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi. This chapel was connected to the church by the renowned s in Ekkergem, but today no trace of either remains. During the French occupation of 1797, the Way of the Cross was permanently demolished, along with the Chapel of the Holy Blood. The only vestige is in the name of the ‘’ (Holy Blood Street).
History of a church►
The first mention of St Martin’s Church was in the ‘Lothair Charter’ in the year 967. In the last quarter of the 12th century, a new Romanesque house of worship is thought to have been built under the patronage of St Bavo's Abbey, with two succursal churches: the parish of Wondelgem and Sint-Michiels. Surviving remnants of that older Romanesque church are the pillars, square section and first octagonal section of the tower, as well as parts of the transept, all made of Tournai stone.
The Romanesque church is likely to have been built in the shape of a Latin cross and was smaller than the Gothic, three-nave hall church constructed in the 16th century. In 1625, Archduchess Isabella laid the first foundation stone for the new four-bay choir with Antonius Triest, the bishop of Ghent. This choir with a pentagonal apse, known as the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, was completed in 1645. The high altar was consecrated by Bishop Triest in 1655, although the vaulting in the choir was only completed in 1685. The baptistry or Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, situated to the south-east, and the turret on the north side also date from the 17th century. In 1875, the stone vaulting of the central nave was in danger of collapsing and was replaced by the current wooden barrel vault in Neo-Gothic style.
The entire church, apart from the choir, underwent a full restoration in 1903-1907, supervised by the Ghent architect Modeste de Noyette (1847-1923). Inspired by the St Luke’s Schools, he strove to restore it to its 16th-century Gothic form. The current southern portal with the relief of St Martin above the entrance dates from that period. In 1975, the architects P. and E. De Vloed led further restoration work.
The current church’s floor plan is that of a hall church with three equal-sized aisles and five bays, a crossing tower and non-protruding transepts. The last element to be thoroughly restored was the painting by Theodoor van Loon, ‘Adoration of the Shepherds’, dating from around 1601. This is the only thoroughly restored painting in the church to date.
History of a place►
St Martin's Church is well-known in Ekkergem for its crooked spire. It is said that local mockery and ridicule drove the master builder to suicide.
The most important work on the new spire began between 1502 and 1509, with a section in Balegem stone added to the tower to make it higher. In 1509, the spire was completed with the wood of two trees from St Bavo’s Abbey, a gift from the abbot at the time. However, the use of wet wood that subsequently dried out in the westerly winds was the probable cause of the crookedness.
Another reason could be the church’s location, , and with foundations that would have been below the water level of the river at the time.The construction of the city ramparts around 1500, as well their demolition in 1846, may have led to subsidence that caused the crooked spire
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Despite major modifications in the Neo-Gothic period, many of the original features of the church’s Baroque interior have been preserved.
St Martin’s Church is also home to a large number of works of art in these two artistic styles.
Statue of St Fiacre
The church houses a beautiful, polychrome wooden sculpture of Saint Fiacre, which is likely to have come from the Groene Briel Benedictine convent, now St Luke’s General Hospital, where there is said to have been a church dedicated to St Fiacre in 1616. In 1661, the abbess at the time published a book titled: ‘Aenroepinghe tot den H. Friael’ (Prayers to St Fiacre). On this saint’s day, people would receive a 40-day indulgence if they prayed for the souls in purgatory in St Fiacre’s chapel. The Groene Briel convent was dissolved under the French occupation.
In the mid-19th century, the statue of St Fiacre turned up in St Martin’s Church. The figurine may have been handed over at that point to the priest of St Martin’s Church by Bishop Vandevelde, along with the reliquary. In the 19th century, the saint was invoked in this church against rickets, a childhood disease that leads to bone growth problems due to a lack of vitamin D. It was caused by long working hours in dark textile mills and living in tenements with little sunlight. Some of these tenements can still be found near St Martin’s Church.
As a remedy, people would soak a shirt in holy water or use consecrated strips or scraps of fabric. Holy scapulars were also handed out to pilgrims. The statue in St Martin’s Church shows this saint with his typical attribute, a shovel. In his left hand, he holds a book. St Fiacre (who died around the year 670) was the heir apparent to an Irish royal family, but he went to France to be a missionary.
Legend has it that the Bishop of Meaux gave him a piece of land on which to build a hermitage, on the condition that he would dig a moat around it in a single night. He miraculously succeeded; hence the shovel. A crown and sceptre lie at his feet. In order to avoid having to follow in the footsteps of his father, and to continue living his simple life, he prayed to God to make him a leper. The painting behind the statue in the church shows this story. This is why he is the patron saint of dermatologists, among other things.
St Barbara’s portico altar
The Barbara Altar is a Baroque portico altar in imitation marble dating from the 17th century, which formerly belonged to the guild of wine gaugers. This guild was responsible for controlling the quality of wine and measuring the content of the barrels.
To the left of the altar is a statue of St Martin, the patron saint of the church, and to the right, a statue of St Nicholas of Myra. In the middle, we see a work by the painter Jan Van Cleef (1646-1716), ‘The Martyrdom of St Barbara’ (1700). The statue of St Barbara is by the sculptor Mathias Zens (1839-1921).
Above it we see putti, or cherubs, a typical feature of the Baroque style. Two biblical reliefs can be linked to the guild. We see a cluster of grapes being carried by two people. This is a scene from the Old Testament (Num. 13: 17-23) in which Moses sends out two scouts from each tribe when they arrive in the Promised Land, and they return with a bunch of grapes. The second relief shows two sheep and shining sacred hosts. This is a reference to the miracle of the blood of Christ that occurred in Ekkergem in 1354.
The guild of master winemakers is represented here because of the right that Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella granted to the church council on 1 November 1616: to levy a tax on wine, known as the ‘penny on the tap’. The revenue from this wine tax was allocated to the restoration of the church after the iconoclasms.
Choir and main altar
In 1655, the main altar and choir were consecrated by Bishop Antonius Triest in the presence of Archduchess Isabella. The spacious three-aisle choir with Baroque ornamentation has sandstone columns supporting an arcade with pointed arches. The side aisles are lit by stained-glass windows with pointed arches.
The central chancel with its Holy Sacrament Chapel is enclosed by a Baroque main altar with a masterpiece by Gaspar de Craeyer (1584-1669), ‘The Resurrection of Christ’ (1640). The painting is framed by a Baroque portico in marbled wood featuring four adoring angels. On the left is a marble statue of Saint Peter and on the right of King David, from the 17th century.
Confessionals by Matthias Zens
The Neo-Gothic sculptures are mainly the work of Matthias Zens (1838-1921), a German artist who lived in Ekkergem. His work complements the architectural additions by Modeste de Noyette (1847-1923).
Zens sculpted the confessionals with a total of eight statues of people in scenes of penance and confession. He is also responsible for the intricate carvings around them, and for the organ loft. We see St Francis dressed in a monk’s habit, holding a skull as a symbol of mortality, to remind humanity to focus on the afterlife. The Prodigal Son from the parable (Luke 15:11-32) is portrayed as a humble figure dressed in rags as he approaches his father for forgiveness, much to the dismay of his brother. Mary Magdalene is depicted with a jar of ointment in her hand. As in mediaeval iconography, she appears as a sinner anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive nard oil.
St John of Nepomuk, a Bohemian priest and martyr from Prague (1350-1393), is portrayed holding a finger to his lips. He was the confessor of Queen Sophie of Bavaria and was martyred, murdered and thrown into the Vltava River because he would not betray the seal of confession, in order to protect her from her jealous husband. This is why he is the patron saint of confessors and priests. King David the psalmist holds his lyre in one hand and the musical score of the famous Psalm 51, ‘Have mercy upon me, O God’, in the other. John the Baptist is shown with the Lamb.
Way of the Cross
Until the French Occupation in 1796, a Chapel of the Holy Blood stood in Ekkergem, which was connected to the church by the famous Way of the Cross, which had 18 stations rather than the usual 14.
The chapel, on the corner of Ekkergemstraat and Heilig-Bloedstraat, was erected following a miracle in 1534. During the night, thieves stole a ciborium with consecrated hosts from the Church of the Augustinian Fathers and buried the hosts in the remote hamlet of Ekkergem. One of the thieves felt remorseful and returned, only to find a blood-stained host in the ground. The next day, a shepherd noticed that the ground in that place was drenched with blood and started spreading the word about the miracle.
The Augustinian fathers visited the spot in procession, reverently unearthed the Blessed Sacrament and carried it back to their church, where a series of miracles immediately occurred. To show their gratitude, they founded a chapel and a confraternity that organised an annual procession between the Augustinian monastery and the Chapel of the Holy Blood. However, the Way of the Cross was destroyed during the iconoclasm. It was replaced at the initiative of Rev. Zachmoorter in 1621 with a series of small shrines mounted on wooden poles.
The route of the Way of the Cross started at the Chapel of the Holy Blood with the first station, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was approximately 4km long; the length of the route Christ would have travelled to Calvary. The route continued to the fortifications at Einde Were, the Brugse Poort and then back to the chapel. This Way of the Cross disappeared forever, along with the Chapel of the Holy Blood, during the French occupation.
The 18 Stations of the Cross inside the church serve as a reminder of them. The paintings depicting the stations were inspired by Rubens, as is clearly visible in The Descent from the Cross.
Stained-glass windows
Colourful stained-glass windows by Gustaaf Landon (1907-1914) can be found in the side choirs and the Sacrament Chapel.
In the north choir, we see four stained-glass windows depicting the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane , Christ’s path to Calvary and the Resurrection.
In the south choir, there are also four stained-glass windows showing the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Education of Jesus, the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, and the Wedding at Cana.
In the Sacrament Chapel, the stained-glass windows depict scenes linked to the Eucharist: the Road to Emmaus on the left, and on the right the Offering of Melchizedek.
Baptistry
The southern transept opens onto a remarkable baptistry and Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, built in 1646 in the Baroque style. A double staircase in black marble leads from the side chapel to the hexagonal baptistry, illuminated by two lancet windows and a central lantern. Below it is a representation of the Holy Sepulchre with a recumbent effigy of Christ (1645).
At the entrance to the chapel, on the left wall, we see a black marble epitaph to Ludovicus Van Den Hecke. The inverted torch, placed diagonally at the top of the epitaph, symbolises death. Even in ancient times, this was a symbol of the end of life.
According to written sources, there used to be an identical epitaph on the other side, in honour of Johannes Baptista Ludovicus Cardon, who died on 18 May 1819 and was pastor of ‘St-Marten in Gend’.
However it is no longer there, and it has been replaced with a 1931 Calvary by Oscar Zinia (1877-1956), a polychrome crucifix flanked by polychrome statues of Mary and John. Oscar Zinia was an artist from Ekkergem, who had a studio nearby in Pijlstraat from 1927 onwards.