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In the 11th century, a small church was built in Oombergen (now part of the City of Zottegem, Belgium). For the construction of the Saint Martin Church, as it was called, stones from Balegem were used. This small church had three bays and a rectangular, closed choir. The inside of the church was only 8.62 meter long and 7.15 meter wide. On the north side, a door led to the graveyard. In 1147, the bishop of Cambrai (Kamerijk) donated the Oombergen church to the Saint-Ghislain Abbey (Sint-Ghislenus-Abdij) in Celles, nearby the City of Mons (now Belgium).
Towards 1400, a massive, square west-tower was constructed in sand stone from Balegem, supported by double corner buttresses. During the religious troubles in the 16th century, the church in Oombergen was destroyed by Calvinists (around 1580). In 1640, Gaspar Damman and Joanna Lanchals, the lords of Oombergen, paid 800 guilder (guldens) to resurrect the church, replacing the Romanesque style by a late-Gothic transept and a new choir. Their coat of arms can still be seen in a transept window. In 1701, the choir was enlarged.
During the night from April 7 to 8, 1919, a fire damaged the church. A restoration was undertaken by architect Valentin Vaerwijck from Gent. This restoration, adding two side aisles to the church, erased nearly all remaining Romanesque elements. On July 3, 1942, the Saint Martin Church was recognized as an important cultural asset by the government.
In 1753, the Saint Martin Church was assigned a relic from Saint Agatha. Since then, Saint Agatha was worshipped at Oombergen as a patron saint protecting against fire and chest troubles. Loafs of bread were donated to her honour, and then publicly sold in order to raise funds for the maintenance and equipment of the church. This tradition of publicly selling donated loafs is still being repeted every year, on a Sunday close to Saint Agatha's name day (around February 10) in the church of Oombergen. For more information, contact the Tourist Office of the City of Zottegem.
Sources:
1.
Koenraad DE WOLF,
Architectuurgids
Zuid-Oost-Vlaanderen. Romaanse Bouwkunst (1000-1225). , 1996, pp. 59-60.
(English translation: Architectural
Guide of South-East-Flanders. Romanesque Architecture (1000-1225).)
2.
Koenraad DE WOLF,
Architectuurgids
Zuid-Oost-Vlaanderen. Gotische Bouwkunst (1225-1625). , 1997, pp. 77-79.
(English translation: Architectural
Guide of South-East-Flanders. Gothic Architecture (1225-1625).)
3.
Weekblad (Weekly) De Beiaard, Zottegem, February 1, 2002, p.5 (Saint Agatha).
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