Moorsel is a village in the

Denderstreek The Denderstreek or Denderland is a region in Belgium. It is named after the river Dender. Though the river stretches over three provinces, Hainaut (province), Hainaut, East Flanders and Flemish Brabant, the region called after the river is situa ...

in the province

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, a ''

deelgemeente A (, literally ''sub-municipality''), or section (), is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 January 1961 bu ...

'' of the city of Aalst. The village belongs to a league of neighbouring villages, which call themselves the ''Faluintjesgemeenten''. Moorsel is the largest of the four villages with approximately 5,175 inhabitants as of 2021.

Name

Today's accepted spelling "Moorsel" dates merely from the 18th century. Latin spellings, such as ''Morcella'' or ''Morscella'' (adj. ''Morscellensis''), are dating back to about 1048
''Vita S. Gudilae''
. The name itself appears to be a combination of ''moor'' (marshland) and ''sele'' or ''sall'' (dwelling), hence a dwelling located in marshland.

History

Historical records about the village of Moorsel date back from the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Approximately one-third of the territory, called ''Moorsel-proper'', was controlled by a local landlord. His housings included a medieval moat, which is still visible in the landscape. The feudal title was elevated to a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

in 1661. The other part of the village (''Moorsel-kapittel'') was owned by the chapter of

Dendermonde Dendermonde (; , ) is a city in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders in Belgium. The Municipalities of Belgium, municipality comprises the city of Dendermonde and the towns of Appels, Baasrode, Grembergen, M ...

, probably from 868 on. One of the largest landowners in the region was the Abbey of Affligem, who possessed the church and the parish of Moorsel. Abbot Karl de Croy, Bishop of Tournai, built a water castle at Moorsel in 1546. Only after the French Revolution the feudal parts of the village (Moorsel-proper and ''Moorsel-kapittel''), as well as the ecclesiastical influence of Affligem, were abolished.

Landmarks

Moorsel is home to a chapel dedicated to Saint Gudula. According to the Life of St. Gudula, she visited daily the church of Moorsel, two miles away from her home. The 14th century structure was built with

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

from Meldert, one of the ''Faluintjesgemeenten''. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. The Romanesque substructure dates from the 12th century. According local tradition, it is based on the foundations of the 7th century St. Salvator church, which Saint Gudula daily visited. The church counts three altars in baroque style, constructed by Jacob Ulner. Another curiosity is the renaissance castle, which is still preserved in its original condition. The castle is constructed was intended as a summer residence for the Karl de Croy, Abbot of the Abbey of Affligem and later on Bishop of Tournai.

Coat of arms

The village's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted 26 March 1914. The heraldic

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

can be described as follows: A shield of Argent with a bend of Gules, standing next to the left of the Virgin Mary, who is holding in her right hand a scepter, and bearing in her left arm the Child Jesus, both covered with a flowing mantle, their heads crowned and aureoled, all in Argent.

Gallery

File:Sint Stefanuskerk - Moorsel - Belgium.jpg, St Stefanus Church File:Aalst Moorsel Bergsken - 246723 - onroerenderfgoed.jpg, Street view File:Brouwerij De Valk - Moorsel - Aalst - België.jpg, Brewery De Valk File:Moorsel - Aalst - België.jpg, Former town hall

References

{{Authority control Aalst, Belgium Former municipalities of East Flanders