War Memorial Sint-Niklaas

This memorial commemorates the residents of Sint-Niklaas who were killed, tortured and captured in the First and Second World Wars.
The assignment was assigned to sculptor Bruno Gerrits.
The monument was inaugurated on May 30, 1926 in the presence of Prince Leopold, the future King Leopold III.

The bluestone memorial is 8 meters high, 8.20 meters wide and 5.50 meters deep. High in the center is a Sacred Heart statue that makes a blessing gesture.
The whole consists of four bronze statues:
- the central image of a dying soldier, carried away by his comrade in arms, with the text: "Save us Lord or we perish",
-left the image of a kneeling girl praying with a gaze on the Sacred Heart,
-on the right the image of a woman on one knee, looking downwards, with a wreath of flowers in her hand,
-at the back the image of a man, desperately stretching out into the hands of the enemy.

In front of the monument there are bronze flowers, a rifle and a helmet.
At the front of the side panels are the names of the fallen, on the back the names of the civilian victims: "They fought for justice and freedom."
(Source: Heritage Sint-Niklaas, monument of the fallen 1914-1918)

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck