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St. Martin's Church is one of the listed monuments of our parish. Our church building has a long history behind it. Already in 1227 the parish of Denderbelle is mentioned and in 1232 there is mention of a priest and the receipt of tithes (tax money) for the church. In 1433, Jan Utenzwane entrenched himself in the church to escape the persecution instituted by the French king.

The Calvinists in particular wreaked havoc in 1572; only the choir remains. This choir, the oldest part of the church, dates from 1539. Since then, the church has been rebuilt several times. First, it was a cruciform church. This explains why our church has such thick pillars: these used to be the outer walls in which openings were made later to enlarge the church and the side aisles. This enlargement was necessary because the Belgian population was growing (from 290 people in 1469 to 1162 people in 1846). The church underwent its last enlargement (at the back, where the organ now stands) in 1896. The thefts, committed by various rulers, have also made beautiful church treasures disappear. Nevertheless, the people of Belgium have always protected their ecclesiastical patrimony. The most striking example is the sabotage of the public sale of the church property, by the then mayor, during the French Revolution.

Some people wonder why the church stands so apart and is not centrally located in the village. This has to do with the fact that when the church was built, it was planted at the crossing of a road coming from Brabant, a road connecting Aalst and Dendermonde, and a ford through the Dender, near the then castle: “Hof Ter Belle”. The village square had a market or trade function. Over time, the ford and ferry lost its economic importance.

To this day, the church building plays an important role in the lives of many Belgians, and even though they no longer meet every week, it remains a gathering place at important moments in their lives. In any case, if the stones could speak, they would be able to tell the history of many Belarusian families and ancestors.

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