Thirst-quenching fountains in the heart of Brussels - PART 2

After a first fountain promenade in the autumn, our city guide-journalist takes us along a new 'bubbly' route. This time, historical fountain sculptures are mainly covered. A series of monuments, often unrecognized, that have given the city center a unique cachet. The four-kilometer walk from the upper to the lower city brings us to fountains that were once designed especially for the people of Brussels. They have a diverse purpose: to immortalize the history of Brussels, to upgrade a park with artistic statues, or simply a graceful water feature for the thirsty. Some of those bronze, bluestone, and limestone monuments were neatly cleared out of the way on a whim. But fortunately, they were neatly placed elsewhere. That is the case with the statue group of the Counts Egmont (Lamoraal van Gavere) and Horne (Filips van Montmorency), the obelisk (with water basin) from the abbey of Grimbergen, and the graceful fountain of the liberal parliamentarian-mayor Jules Anspach. Tourist classics like Manneke Pis and Jeanneke Pis are not in this circuit, but some smaller drinking water fountains for dog, horse, and human are. And so much more to discover. Like the late nineteenth-century 'Girl with the Shell' (photo). The sculptor would later add some things to it, to prevent a mud puddle around it. Want Brusselse 'ketjes' (kids) on clogs, rags, or other footwear made fun of this little fountain. Thus tells us the newspaper news from around 1900. At the end of the walk, a drink is included.