The Congress Column (french: Colonne du Congrès, nl, Congreskolom) is a monumental column 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, commemorating the creation of the

Belgian Constitution The Constitution of Belgium ( nl, Belgische Grondwet, french: Constitution belge, german: Verfassung Belgiens) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility ...

by the National Congress of 1830–31. Inspired by

Trajan's Column Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Ap ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, it was erected between 1850 and 1859, on the initiative of the then- Prime Minister of Belgium,

Charles Rogier Charles Latour Rogier (; 17 August 1800 – 27 May 1885) was a Belgian liberal statesman and a leader in the Belgian Revolution of 1830. He served as the prime minister of Belgium on two occasions: from 1847 to 1852, and again from 1857 to ...

, according to a design by the architect Joseph Poelaert. At the top of the column is a statue of Belgium's first monarch;

King Leopold I * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...

, and at its base, the

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 ...

is surrounded by statues personifying the four freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution. The Belgian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

lies at its foot.The oldest film material in this movie (9:03 - 9:49 min), is about the burial of the coffin of the Unknown Soldier at the monument to the Congress Column on November 11, 1922. The column is located on the /; a small square adjacent to the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat, in the Freedom Quarter. This area is served by Brussels-Congress railway station, the metro stations Parc/Park (on lines 1 and 5) and Botanique/Kruidtuin (on lines 2 and 6), as well as the

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

stop / on lines 92 and 93.

History

Background

Following Belgian Independence in 1830, the desire to consolidate a still fragile identity led to a mania for monuments and a taste for national history. This expression of ardent patriotism, which mainly found its inspiration in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, led for example to the installation of a statue of

Andreas Vesalius Andreas Vesalius (Latinized from Andries van Wezel) () was a 16th-century anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' ' ...

in the centre of the /, and another of the Counts of Egmont and Horn on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square). At the same time, the new Rue Royale/Koningsstraat, which remained unbuilt in its middle on the western side, defined an open space called then the / (the current /), which offered a beautiful view of the city and its surroundings. In 1850, to commemorate Independence and the work of the National Congress, which had laid the foundations of the Belgian State twenty years earlier, the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, on the initiative of the then- Prime Minister of Belgium,

, thus decided to build a Congress Column on this site.

Construction (1850–1859)

Column of Congress, Brussels, Belgium-LCCN2001697917

The first stone was laid down in presence of

on 24 September 1850 and the monument was inaugurated on 26 September 1859. The architect Joseph Poelaert (who was later to also build Brussels' Palace of Justice) was responsible for the execution of the works, under the supervision of the Monuments Commission, and the sculptures of the monument were entrusted to five sculptors, amongst which

Eugène Simonis Louis-Eugène Simonis (11 July 1810, in Liège – 11 July 1893, in Koekelberg) was a Belgian sculptor. Career Simonis studied under François-Joseph Dewandre at the Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Liège and at the age of nineteen went to I ...

. In the centre of the Place des Panoramas, renamed the Place du Congrès for the occasion, the column became the focal point of the neighbouring / district (today's Freedom Quarter). The development plans for this formerly mostly working-class district, cleaned up between 1875 and 1885, attempted to free up the perspective of the column and organise the road network around it accordingly. At the same time, the architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar took charge of creating, below the square, a covered market which replaced some populous alleys or ill-famed dead-ends bordering the (now-disappeared) /.

20th and 21st centuries

The Belgian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an

was installed at the foot of the Congress Column in 1922, in memory of the Belgian soldiers who died during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1929, it was the site of an attempted assassination of Crown Prince Umberto of Italy by Fernando de Rosa. Severely degraded by time, the Congress Column was cleaned in 1968 for the first time since its erection. The monument was again the subject between 1997 and 2008 of major renovation works divided into different phases. In 2001, the

plinth 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 ...

and the four corner bronze statues underwent a deep cleaning, using the

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

technique. The corner statues were then coated with wax. In July 2002, work began on cleaning and restoring the column itself, again using laser cleaning technology. The works were finished in November 2002, allowing for the

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...

ceremonies to take place at the site.

Description

The Congress Column has a total height of . A spiral staircase of 193 steps inside the column leads to a platform, decorated with a lavishly carved balustrade, surrounding the pedestal of the statue of

. The platform can accommodate 16 visitors but is no longer accessible for security reasons. The statue of Leopold was made by the sculptor

Guillaume Geefs Guillaume Geefs (10 September 1805 – 19 January 1883), also Willem Geefs, was a Belgian sculptor. Although known primarily for his monumental works and public portraits of statesmen and nationalist figures, he also explored mythological su ...

. Designed by Poelaert and inspired by

, the column commemorates the National Congress of 1830–31 which drafted the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Belgian Constitution of 1831. The important dates in the struggle for Belgian Independence are engraved on column's pedestal, together with the names of the members of the National Congress and the Provisional Government of Belgium, as well as important passages from the Constitution. The

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

is decorated with elegant foliage and on its four sides are represented Wisdom, Strength, Immortality and Glory. File:Brussels, la Colonne du Congrès in straatzicht (Rue Royale) foto2 2015-06-07 09.50.jpg, The Congress Column and the Finance Tower seen from the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat File:Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Brussels - DSC06939.jpg, Pedestal of the column, with two bronze lions by

File:Congress Column in Brussels - panoramio.jpg, Detail of the

on the column File:Brussel Congreskolombeeld.jpg, Statue of

, by

, at the top of the column On the base of the column, surrounding the pedestal, four sitting

allegorical 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 t ...

bronze female sculptures represent the major constitutional liberties enshrined in the Constitution of 1831: the 'Freedom of Association' by Charles Fraikin, the 'Freedom of Worship' by

, the 'Freedom of the Press' and the 'Freedom of Education' both by Joseph Geefs. Two monumental bronze lions by

are placed in front of the monument. In 2007, during Storm Kyrill, the 'Freedom of the Press' sculpture was blown down and later restored. File:Libercultes.JPG, ("Freedom of Education") File:CONGRESS COLUMN-BRUSSELS-Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram (12).jpg, ("Freedom of Association") File:CONGRESS COLUMN-BRUSSELS-Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram (13).jpg, ("Freedom of Worship") File:Freedom of the Press by Jean Geefs - Congress Column - Brussels, Belgium - DSC06949.jpg, ("Freedom of the Press")

Monument to the Unknown Soldier

Tomb of Unknown Soldier in Brussels - panoramio

As a memorial to the Belgian victims of

, an unknown soldier was buried at the foot of the monument on 11 November 1922. This unknown soldier was selected out of five unidentified soldiers from different battle sites by Raymond Haesebrouck, a veteran blinded in battle. The tomb is surmounted by an

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, a second memorial plaque was added to the monument to honour the Belgian victims. In 1998, a third memorial plaque was dedicated to the Belgian soldiers killed in the service of peace since 1945.

References

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

{{Belgian Revolution of 1830 Buildings and structures in Brussels City of Brussels Tourist attractions in Brussels Monumental columns in Belgium World War I memorials in Belgium Neoclassical architecture in Belgium Constitution of Belgium Cultural infrastructure completed in 1859 1850 in Belgium