If the current city of Charleroi was under the Old Regime on the lands of the county of Namur, the entity of Marcinelle, it was possession of the principality of Liège. The locality became the property of the chapter of Saint-Lambert Cathedral in Liège in the 12th century. The Saint-Martin church, a remarkable building erected on a small mound, is today the heir to a Romanesque building which remained until the 15th century, when the Prince-Bishop of Liège Jean de Hornes had it rebuilt. from 1484, however retaining the tower. The building still underwent some transformations thereafter, including the reconstruction of the transept at the beginning of the 18th century. The interior of the sanctuary bears the mark of its builder: a keystone located in the south aisle represents an angel holding in his hands the coat of arms of Jean de Hornes. Also on the side of the south aisle, outside this time, is a sculpted head from the 13th century baptismal font, which has since disappeared. The roof and its frames, victims of a fire in 1935, were restored the same year.