Monument to John Cockerill, Brussels

Inaugurated in 1872, the monument is a near copy of the monument erected in 1871 by the sculptor outside Seraing's Town Hall in Liège Province (Wallonia), where the heart of John Cockerill's industrial empire was located. The creation of the monument, authorised by the sculptor, was financed by Willem Rau, a collaborator of Cockerill. The monument was probably erected in front of Brussels-Luxembourg railway station because it was one of the first stations in Brussels, and Cockerill's workshops supplied Belgium's first rails, wagons and locomotives. On 1 February 2024, the monument was vandalised during a farmers' protest that took place in front of the European Parliament. Specifically, the statue of the mechanic Beaufort, one of the four figures surrounding the industrialist, was torn from the pedestal and left on the ground, in the middle of burning wooden pallets. According to Yves Rouyet, Ixelles' Heritage Councillor: "It has a crack in its arm, leg and lower back; the worker's tool melted and the extreme heat removed the patina". It was sent to Ghent for restoration. The statue was restored over the course of 2024 and replaced on 13 December 2024, including the full restoration of the worker's compass, which had been damaged long before the vandalism. ==Description==

The monument consists of a bronze summit statue of Cockerill leaning on an anvil and standing on a rectangular blue stone pedestal. The monument pays tribute not only to Cockerill but also to the industrial workers of Belgium, represented by four bronze statues installed around the industrialist. The corners of the pedestal are flanked by four workers: the glass-blower or blacksmith Lognoul, the mechanic Beaufort, the puddler Lejeune and the coal miner Jacquemin. On the front of the pedestal there is an inscription with the words "To John Cockerill, the father of workers". The sides of the base of the pedestal read "Intelligence" on the right and "Work" on the left, as well as "1790-1840", Cockerill's dates of birth and death, on the back. File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Monument à John Cockerill - 02.jpg|John Cockerill File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Monument à John Cockerill - 05.jpg|The mechanic Beaufort File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Monument à John Cockerill - 08.jpg|The glass-blower or blacksmith Lognoul File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Monument à John Cockerill - 11.jpg|The coal miner Jacquemin File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Monument à John Cockerill - 06.jpg|The puddler Lejeune ==See also==