Equestrian statue of King Leopold II

This equestrian statue of Leopold II is quite disputed. Especially the left part raises many eyebrows: the "grateful Congolese" who worship their hero. What Leopold II had executed in Congo would undoubtedly now be prosecuted as crimes against humanity in an international court. But in the 19th century, you could get away with that as a ruler. The most famous images are those of children and adults with severed hands if they did not want to cooperate in, among other things, the rubber plantations. To ensure that this dark chapter of our colonial history does not go forgotten, during a protest action in 2004, the hand of one of the 'grateful Congolese' was sawed off, in a reference to the Leopoldian reign of terror. That reign of terror did yield a lot of profits. And with those profits, Leopold II had this area built. Knowing this, you might get a somewhat bitter aftertaste when admiring all this grand architecture.

Dromos