The heart of the former Belgian mayor was found buried in a fountain

2 hours ago

Image source, verviers.be

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Caption,

The organ, sealed in a jar of alcohol in a small zinc coffin.

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The fountain in Verviers, eastern Belgium, hands over what it has been keeping for more than a century: the heart of the city’s first mayor.

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The organ, sealed in a jar of alcohol inside a small zinc coffin, was found during the renovation of the fountain.

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The chest is now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts.

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Mayor Pierre David died in 1839, but the fountain named after him was inaugurated only in 1883.

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An engraving on the coffin mentions the mayor’s heart which was later placed on the monument.

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“The heart of Pierre David was placed in service at this monument on June 25, 1883”, the inscription reads.

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gaps in fountain, belgium, heart — Caption,

The chest was tucked away in a gap in the fountain.

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Verviers public works councilor Maxime Degey said “an urban legend has come true: the coffin sits at the top of the fountain, right near the chest of the Pierre David statue, behind a rock we had removed during the fountain renovation.”

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The broadcaster RTBF quoted information that the coffin found by construction workers on August 20 was “in very perfect condition”.

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Air macur David, Verviers — Caption,

The chest was hidden near Pierre David’s chest.

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Mayor Pierre David died in the fall at the age of 68, while working in the thatched attic in 1839.

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The city government raised funds to build a monument in his honor, and with the consent of his family, surgeons removed his heart so that it could be buried in the monument.

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Verviers’ official website – verviers.be – says it took decades for the city to raise enough money to erect a monument with adequate ornamentation.

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Meanwhile, there is also debate about how best to honor the city’s first mayor, before the fountain at Place Verte was built.

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chest containing David's heart — Caption,

The chest is on display at the Verviers Museum of Fine Arts

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Who is Pierre David?

He lived through difficult times, including the formation of Belgium as an independent state in 1830.

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He first served as mayor of Verviers in 1800-1808, when Belgium was then under French rule.

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Later, Belgian independence came after the revolution against Dutch rule in 1830, and that year Pierre David was re-elected as mayor.

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Pierre David, belgium, first mayor — Caption,

Pierre Davi image.

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The mayor is remembered primarily for establishing a fire service at Verviers in 1802 – a rare innovation at the time.

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He was a Francophile who supported the ideology of the French Revolution, but later lived during the period of Dutch rule from 1815 to 1830.

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Verviers was badly damaged in the rebellion of 1830, and Pierre David was given the task of restoring order in the city, for which he was highly respected.

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