Monument Artillists First World War

The monument was erected after the First World War as a tribute to the trench gunners, victims of the 1914-1918 conflict.
The original monument inaugurated on May 6, 1934 by King Leopold III was located in the center of the square, opposite Avenue de Tervuren, and was much more imposing and visible than the current monument.
In the 1970s it was dismantled for the construction of the first pre-metro line of Brussels, it was rebuilt in a simplified version on the side of the square.

In the center, on a stone base, a bronze statue representing a winged victory holds a crown at arm's length. It is a work of sculptor Mauritius Waucquez.
Behind the image is the text in the two national languages:
1914-1918
To the Trench Gunners
killed for the Fatherland"

Recessed left and right, two bas-reliefs, also of bronze, in a stone frame depicting scenes of the trenches.
On the left panel, three stooped men, dressed in heavy military attire, painstakingly push and pull an artillery piece attached to a wagon. A fourth carries a load of ammunition.

To the right, behind a lookout post observing the enemy with binoculars from the edge of the trench, three gunners load a mortar. A fifth protects himself, his arm raised above his head.

These scenes, treated in a realistic style, are in stark contrast to the allegorical portrayal of Victory. The expression on the faces is hard, almost painful. The attitude of the men, the heavy clothing suggesting cold and damp, the chaotic background composed of various debris, a cross from which a crown hangs, broken tree trunks, all bear witness to the gravity of what was experienced by those to whom the monument paid tribute.

Source : monumen.be/patrimoine-belge

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Source

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