2023-11-18 15:04:39
Some things that should not have been forgotten have been lost, as Tolkien wrote in The Lord of the Rings. “The story has become a legend and the legend a myth. » In Verviers, the legend was very true. However, in 2020, during the work on Place Verte, when a small chest was found in the David fountain, everyone had forgotten that it housed the heart of the first mayor of Verviers. The heart was put back in its place by Elio Di Rupo and Alexandre Loffet this Saturday.
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If it was replaced a little more than three years after its discovery, it is because the work on Place Verte is now complete. Elio Di Rupo, the minister president of the Walloon region, was particularly delighted to be able to play the game. “I knew that the mayors had a heart. In any case, I was mayor for 18 years and I always considered that I had one. But in Verviers we are proud to show it. »
Alexandre Loffet and Elio Di Rupo handed over the heart of Pierre David – AR
The story of Pierre David is unusual and deserves to be discussed in a few lines. After all, in 200 years, it is not impossible that the municipal authorities will come across this little chest again and this article will be able to explain to them what is inside. Pierre David is the last mayor, during the period when Belgium was French, and the first mayor of Verviers after independence. We owe him in particular the first night patrols carried out by firefighters and the first workers’ city in Europe. When he died, the man was so respected that it was considered he deserved a monument and for this monument to be all the stronger, his heart had to be installed inside. It took around forty years after his death for the fountain to be built. The heart was placed in 1883.
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The elected officials of Verviers in front of the David fountain – AR
“We had to put this heart back where our fathers decided to put it. It was obvious that we had to reproduce this gesture, that’s what we have just done,” exclaims Jean-François Chefneux, Alderman of the Museums, delighted to be able to continue the story in this way.
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Elio Di Rupo was also particularly happy to be able to inaugurate this place. “Wallonia is cities and municipalities, and when a municipality like Verviers is doing better, it is Wallonia that is doing better. » Alexandre Loffet, acting mayor, recalled that it was Marc Elsen then Muriel Targnion who launched this file before he had the honor of completing it. For him this new place is a success insofar as it no longer has stairs and is more accessible than the previous one. Even if it was started before the floods, this square is a bit of a symbol of a changing Verviers which is gradually recovering.
Jean-François Chefneux. – AR
For the rest of Verviers, a friendly city, Maxime Degey, Alderman of Works, recalled that for the moment Verviers was only a few weeks behind the end of the program. “We were aiming for the end of 2025, it will probably be the beginning of 2026. But it’s a site that has experienced covid, floods, the materials crisis, etc. »
Published on Saturday November 18, 2023 at 5:47 p.m.
The Verviétoise majority inaugurated the green square this Saturday, a celebration criticized by the PTB. The party highlights two major concerns: the lack of exemplarity and an attempt at pre-electoral diversion.
The PTB accuses the majority of not taking responsibility for sustainable neighborhoods, pointing out the study on areas to be demineralized. As families are evacuated for house demolition in the name of safety, the PTB is calling for an updated study to assess the potential impact of the work on future flooding.
The “Verviers Ville Conviviale” project, financed to the tune of 7 million euros, is criticized by the PTB as a poorly directed investment, highlighting image priorities rather than the real needs of the population. The party highlights the challenges of housing, poverty and post-flood reconstruction neglected by the majority.
The PTB calls for transparency and prioritization of the real needs of the population rather than electoral considerations.
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