Aalst / Aalst-bij-Sint-Truiden / Aalst-in-Haspengouw / Alost / Alste
INFORMATION
Font ID: 26009AAL
Object Type: Baptismal Font1?
Font Date: n.d.
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th - 13th century (?), Medieval?
Church / Chapel Name: Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Onbevlekt-Ontvangenkerk
Font Location in Church: [disappeared]
Church Patron Saint(s): The Immaculate Conception of St. Mary
Church Notes: document from 1107 shows Aalst already a parish, with patronage rights vested in the Abbey of Sint-Truiden; present church built in 1854
Church Address: Aalst-Dorp, 3800 Sint-Truiden, Belgium
Site Location: Limburg, Vlaanderen / Flandres, Belgium, Europe
Directions to Site: Located off the N789, W of the N3, in the municipality and 4-5 km SE of Sint-Truiden, about 20 km SW of Hasselt
Ecclesiastic Region: Bisdom Hasselt
Additional Comments: disappeared font(s)? (the one(s) from the medieval church here *** get KIK-IRPA IMAGE of new font***
Font Notes:
Click to view
The present baptismal font and cover are modern, made of brass in the 19th-century, listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/75251] [accessed 5 December 2025]: "doopvont [...] messing [...] Date: 1801 (onzeker) - 1850 (onzeker) [...] hoogte: 102 cm".
A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 3 December 2025) provides some historical information on the church of Aalst, and provides the link to the entry for this font in the Erfgoeddatabank [https://erfgoeddatabank.be/nl/collectie/object/73709/] [accessed 5 December 2025], which shows it standing on a square wooden plinth to which the font is attached with four metal hooks. The basin is raised on a round, stepped foot with profiled rings, extending into a baluster-shaped stem, constricted at the top. The cup-shaped basin is closed by a gradually tapering domed lid ending in a bell-shaped top. The lid is hinged but no longer firmly attached to the basin. A similar font in the church of Schurhoven, these are typical fonts that were moved from church to church but, given the size of this one, it is not known if the font was meant to be moved. Pol Herman's communication further notes that there is no trace left of the earlier font(s) of this church.
A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 3 December 2025) provides some historical information on the church of Aalst, and provides the link to the entry for this font in the Erfgoeddatabank [https://erfgoeddatabank.be/nl/collectie/object/73709/] [accessed 5 December 2025], which shows it standing on a square wooden plinth to which the font is attached with four metal hooks. The basin is raised on a round, stepped foot with profiled rings, extending into a baluster-shaped stem, constricted at the top. The cup-shaped basin is closed by a gradually tapering domed lid ending in a bell-shaped top. The lid is hinged but no longer firmly attached to the basin. A similar font in the church of Schurhoven, these are typical fonts that were moved from church to church but, given the size of this one, it is not known if the font was meant to be moved. Pol Herman's communication further notes that there is no trace left of the earlier font(s) of this church.
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Pol Herman for bringing this font to our attention anf for his help documenting it
COORDINATES
UTM: 31U 656033 5627875
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 50.781611, 5.213389
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 50° 46′ 53.8″ N, 5° 12′ 48.2″ E