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Memorial 'La Brabançonne'

"La Brabançonne" is a statue named after Belgium's national anthem in 1930, exactly one century after the Belgian Revolution.
It stands in the center of the Surlet de Chokier Square, on the edge of the Freedom District, designed from 1874 by the architect Antoine Mennessier. The street names in this district refer to the Belgian revolution and constitutional freedoms.
The Surlet de Chokier Square honors the memory of the first sovereign of Belgium, the regent Erasmus-Louis Surlet de Chokier appointed by the National Congress in 1831, before the arrival of King Leopold I.

The statue of the Brabançonne is the bronze replica of a stucco statue that was provisionally placed on the Grand Place in Brussels to celebrate the joyous entry of the Princes Albert I and Elisabeth on November 22, 1918.
The statue, which had struck the minds, was launched as a project (public tender) for the centenary of Belgium's Independence.
It was sculpted in 1930 by Charles Samuel and cast by the Compagnie des Bronzes de Bruxelles. The inauguration took place on November 16, 1930.

The monument consists of a bronze statue, with a green patina.
The figure is a young woman singing and proudly showing a flag depicting the Belgian lion. She is the emblem of the province of Brabant.
On the bluestone pedestal are some verses of the national anthem in the two national languages:
"O dear Belgium, O noble land of the fathers!
Our soul and heart are consecrated to You.
Accept the power and the blood
of our veins... »
At the back is written in the two national languages: "Established by Public Registration"
Sept - 1930 »

Source : Wikipedia

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Source

  • Text: Marie-Christine Vinck
  • Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck