The first houses built in this forested area along the Geleysbeek, a tributary of the Senne, date from the 7th century. The village's first church was dedicated to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite. The legend of Saint Alena, a young convert to Chalcedonian Christianity murdered by her father's troops for hearing mass at the church of Dionysius, also takes place in the 7th century. The chapel and cult of Saint Alena, however, date only from the 12th century. The saint's cenotaph, one of the rare examples of 12th-century sculpture in Belgium, can still be admired in the chapel today. The contiguous church of Saint Denis was rebuilt in the Romanesque style at around the same time. The abbots of Affligem, which had been the ecclesiastical owners of the parish since the bishop of Cambrai ceded it to them in 1105, decided to build a priory for women in Forest; Forest Abbey. The first abbess of the Forest priory was appointed in 1239. Also in the 13th century, the Romanesque church of Saint Denis was rebuilt in the newer Gothic style. The neighbouring abbatial church was rebuilt in the 15th century.
During the period of the Austrian Netherlands, especially during the reigns of Archdukes Albert and Isabella, Forest prospered, thanks to its abbey. On 26 March 1764, however, a devastating fire ruined some of the buildings and destroyed many of its artworks. Three decades later, in the years following the French Revolution, the religious community was disbanded, the nuns forced to flee, and the buildings sold. The Forest municipality bought the abbey in 1964 and proceeded to restore it to its previous glory.
Sights
The Church of Saint Denis and the adjoining chapel of Saint Alena house unique specimens of Romanesque sculpture. The nearby Benedictine abbey is now home to a cultural centre.
The Art Decotown hall, built in 1925 and inaugurated in 1938, is located near the old historic centre.
The Church of St. Augustine on the Place de l'Altitude Cent/Hoogte Honderdplein, also in an Art Deco style.
On the grounds of Forest Abbey, a three-day-long “Medieval Celebration” is organised in September, where hosts and visitors alike are dressed as knights, burghers, soldiers, and a variety of other medieval attire. Typical activities include watching assorted magicians, jugglers and fire-eaters, listening to musicians perform on period instruments, appreciating old-time crafts, and tasting forgotten drinks and dishes.
Since 1987, Forest has giant puppets of its own: Nele and Pauline, both baptised at the abbey, and their children, Alida and Paville.
