The Anspach Fountain (french: Fontaine Anspach, nl, Anspachfontein) is an

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

-style fountain-

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

erected in 1897 in the centre of the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium. Designed by the architect , it is dedicated to the memory of

Jules Anspach Baron Jules Victor Anspach (20 July 1829 – 19 May 1879) was a Belgian politician and mayor of the City of Brussels, best known for his renovations surrounding the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871). He is buried in Brussels Cemetery. A ...

, a former

mayor of the City of Brussels This is a list of mayors or burgomasters of the City of Brussels. Burgundian Netherlands (1384–1482) *1380: Geert Pipenpoy *1381: Geert Pipenpoy and Jacques Stovaert *1421: J. Swaeff, J. Cooman *1422: Walter Vanden Heetvelde, Petrus van Bole ...

. The monument was dismantled in 1973 following construction work on the

Brussels Metro The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...

. It was reinstalled in 1981 in its current location on the /, between the / and the /, in the / neighbourhood.

History

The Anspach Fountain was designed by the architect and erected in 1897 in the centre of the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, left empty by the destruction of the former Temple of the Augustinians. The fountain pays homage to Jules Anspach,

from 1863 to 1879, as well as promoter of the

covering of the river Senne The covering of the Senne (french: Voûtement de la Senne, nl, Overwelving van de Zenne) was the covering and later diverting of the main river of Brussels, Belgium, and the construction of public buildings and Central Boulevards of Brussels, ...

(1867–1871) and the creation of the Central Boulevards. This monument stood exactly in the axis of the Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan, like a regulator of traffic at the birth of the fork between the / and the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan. It was considered in its time the most beautiful and the grandest in the city. The fountain was removed in 1973 to make way for access to

De Brouckère metro station De Brouckère is a rapid transit station located beneath the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in central Brussels, Belgium. It consists of both a metro station (serving lines 1 and 5) and a ''premetro'' (underground tram) station (ser ...

. The authorities had promised to put it back in place after the works, but it was eventually reinstalled in May 1981 in a basin that occupies the space between the / and the /, in the / neighbourhood, some from the Place de Brouckère.

Description

The

-style monument, high, is made up of a Swedish

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

surmounting a blue stone

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ci ...

surrounded by a basin. Inseparable from the monumental perspective of the boulevards—and yet moved following the works of the metro—it is, through its dedication and former location, a tribute to Anspach.

Pedestal

The blue stone pedestal, decorated with a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

depicting an

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

of ''The

Covering of the Senne The covering of the Senne (french: Voûtement de la Senne, nl, Overwelving van de Zenne) was the covering and later diverting of the main river of Brussels, Belgium, and the construction of public buildings and major boulevards in its place. ...

'', the work of the sculptor Paul De Vigne, and

chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

s sculpted by Godefroid Devreese, is surrounded by a four-lobed basin decorated with mascaron spitters made by the sculptor . On the pedestal, there are also inscriptions recalling the names of the artists and the circumstances of the monument's construction. File:Bruxelles - Fontaine Anspach - 03.JPG, ''The

'' by Paul De Vigne File:Bruxelles - Fontaine Anspach - 02.JPG,

Chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

by Godefroid Devreese File:Bruxelles - Fontaine Anspach - 07.JPG, Mascaron by

Obelisk

The pink granite obelisk bears at its base a white marble medallion with Anspach's image by Paul De Vigne, surrounded by

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

allegories of ''The Municipal Judiciary'' and the ''The Grateful City of Brussels'' by the sculptor

Julien Dillens Julien Dillens (8 June 1849 – 24 December 1904) was a Belgian sculptor born in Antwerp, the son of the painter Hendrick Joseph Dillens. Biography Dillens studied under Eugène Simonis at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. In 1877 he received ...

. The top of the obelisk bears a bronze ornament made by Pierre Braecke depicting a fortified castle surmounted by a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

spire decorated with

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s and ending with an effigy of

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...

, slaying a dragon or demon. File:Bruxelles - Fontaine Anspach - 06.JPG, Statue of

slaying the dragon by File:Bruxelles - Fontaine Anspach - 05.JPG, White

medallion with

's effigy by Paul De Vigne File:Bruxelles - Fontaine Anspach - 04.JPG, ''The Municipal Judiciary'' by

File:Dillens Bruxelles et Magistrature Communale.JPG, ''The Grateful City of Brussels'' by Dillens

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book, ref={{harvid, Mardaga, 1989, title=Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique: Bruxelles, volume=1A: Pentagone A-D, location=Liège, language=fr, publisher=Pierre Mardaga, year=1989, url=https://monument.heritage.brussels/files/cities/1000/documents/01-vol-a-fr-def_k.pdf Buildings and structures in Brussels Tourist attractions in Brussels City of Brussels Fountains in Belgium