Urban statue

In the Hernestraat in Tollembeek is the Bronze Urbanus statue that was inaugurated on April 8, 2000.

The idea came from Urban himself. Mayor Georges Cardoen-zaliger was immediately won over by the initiative, but a government budget was not available for it. Urbanus took care of the costs for the creation of the statue and the pedestal.

Sculptor Koenraad Tinel, living in neighbouring Vollezele and a good friend of Urbanus, contributed his technical cooperation to the realisation of the Urbanus statue, which he executed three-dimensionally after a design by Urbain Servranckx himself. The statue weighs 400 kg and was cast in the Van Geert art foundry in Aalst. The image would become something playful, something that children (and adults) can turn around.

Definition
Urban statue
In addition to a bad boy-like Urbanus with a big head and bulging eyes in Bermuda pants, we also see the male moped Amedee and the 2-piece dog Nabuco Donosor. For Amedee, Tinel provided a child-friendly trick: if you turn a lever, you make the moped fly dance in his matchbox.

At the request of Michel Matthijs, secretary of the HOLVEO local community, Urbanus and Tinel were prepared to integrate two local elements into the image. For example, the mocking name of the Tollembekenaren, Hanezoekers and the bouncing glove with bouncing ball were incorporated.
The legend is hidden in the pedestal at the back of the Urbanus statue. If you pull a lever, in the form of a bouncing glove with a bouncing ball in it, you will see the long-lost church tower emerge in a niche.

est2000