Saint Martin's Collegiate Church, Aalst: Distant view, looking down towards Sint-Martensplein

St. Martin's Collegiate Church, in Gothic style, dates back to 1480. It contains a painting by Rubens, 'Saint Roch beseeching Christ to terminate the Plague at Aalst', and it has also a beautiful tabernacle (dated 1605), which features sculptures made by Hieronymus Duquesnoy the Elder. In addition to silverware and vestments of the Abbey of Drongen, the church houses the tomb of Thierry Martens, the first printer of Belgium. A copper meridian line, running through the south transept, was added in 1839. Until 1868 it was the only parish church in Aalst. It is currently being restored.