In 1135, a first chapel stood here, which was elevated to a parish church around 1185. Around 1300, the church was expanded with side aisles and side chapels, causing the octagonal tower to rise not at the back of the church, but as a crossing tower in the center. The tower served as a sea beacon.
With the rise of coastal tourism in the late 1800s, the church quickly became too small during the busy summer months. In 1906, a new lower church was built, and during the subsequent restoration, the tower received a new slender spire. A three-aisled hall church with an octagonal crossing tower was created.
In 1929, the cemetery was dismantled, and a new cemetery was established along Uitkerksestraat.
The interior, under a wooden pointed vault, contains an oak pulpit in Rococo style from the mid-18th century, a remarkable wooden vestibule, and a stone tabernacle with copper doors, possibly from the 16th century. The stained glass windows in the choir date back to 1908, 1911, and 1922. The rediscovered 13th-century tiles have been incorporated into the floor. The baptismal font in the lower church is made of polished blue stone and is topped with a copper lid.
Be sure to look out for the Miraculous Cross, dating back to the 17th century and repainted in 1992. The church is dedicated to the Holy Cross. The devotion and pilgrimage to the cross began in the 16th century following a legend that tells of a cross being fished out of the sea off the coast of Wenduine by fishermen from Blankenberge and brought to the parish church for veneration. On Whit Monday, the story of the legend is performed in a dance and music spectacle on the beach at the Rotonde, followed by the blessing of the sea. A tradition that has been upheld for 200 years. And as tradition dictates, it is the fishermen from Blankenberge who carry the wooden cross in procession to the seafront.
