The monument close at home
Every day The Viking and I drive on the same road to go to my work. And every day we pass the same monument: the Congress Column.
This monument is actually a tribute to the creation of the Belgian state and its constitution in 1830 – 1831 and was erected about 20 years later. The statue you see on top depicts Leopold I, the first king of the Belgians. The column is about 47 meters high and its base there are 4 other statues: the Liberty of Union, the Liberty of Worship, the Liberty of Press and the Liberty of Education.
Most Belgians associate the Congress Column with something else: the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are actually five unknown soldiers buried here and they are guarded by two huge bronze lions and an eternal flame. Every year, on 11 November, there is a ceremony here to remember the victims of World War I.
Check out the other pictures on Flickr!
10 Comments on “The monument close at home”
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Ingrid is a Worldette!
Totally incidental, but the deep blue sky really sets off the monument!
And tangentially related, with DNA records, unknown soldiers are becoming a thing of the past.
Beautiful pictures!
Thanks for the compliments!
Can’t help it – you know how much I love seeing distant parts of the world through your camera.
And the colors here really blew me away!
It was such a beautiful summer’s day!
Great shots.
Thanks! It is such a beautiful monument!
Fantastic shots! — YUR
Fantastic place! And it’s just around the corner!
Beautiful statues!
Yes, they turned out well on the pics