Monument to the Peasants' War Mechelen

Next to St. Rumbold's Cathedral is a memorial to the Peasants' War, a southern Dutch peasant uprising against the French occupation in 1798.
The monument was erected and inaugurated on October 23, 1898 by the Davidsfonds.

The memorial consists of a wrought iron cross on which a large cast iron Christ.
It commemorates the 41 rebels who were shot dead by French soldiers near St. Rumbold's Cemetery during the Boer War. Their mass grave was discovered in 2010 during archaeological excavations in this cemetery.

A copper plate hangs at the front:
"To Christ our Lord
To restore the old crucifix of
Great Bridge by the French Republicans
none in 1798, and to the blessed memory of the 41
victims during the Boerwar on this one
shot dead by the Sansculottes
the 23rd of October 1798"
Below are the 41 names followed by the text:
"Their memory will not pass away, and theirs
names will be honored from generation to generation.
Founded by the Mechelsche Department of
the Davidsfonds on October 23, 1898"

The sides of the pedestal read:
"We fought for our people and for what was sacred to us"
"The tyrant ordered them all to be killed in the same place"
"All nations will proclaim their struggle"

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Source

• Text: Traces of War
• Photos: Wim Wouters