Fontaine Sainte-Begge

The Saint Begga fountain (Andenne)

The Saint Begga spring has always existed. The monument on top of it dates from the 17th century. It was formerly called the “fontaine aux Poussins”, recalling the legend of Saint Begga and the chicks, and is situated on the Place du Chapitre to the left of the Collegiate church near the former gate, the porte Saint-Étienne. Above the fountain, you can see a niche fitted with a grill in which a statue of the patron saint occupies a place of honour. This fountain is composed of several basins worn and eroded by the water and the rubbing of the washerwomen who were particularly reputed to pass through the Collegiate church with their dogs on their way there. If you take a look at the epitaph above the right entrance to the Collegiate church, you will moreover notice the words “LES CHIENS HORS DE LA MAISON DE DIEU” (“Dogs out of the House of God”). As a short side comment, there was a time when a guard was posted at that entrance to oblige those ladies to go the long way round.

Jan Rymenams