Brabofontein

“We start at the most famous fountain in the city, that of Brabo at the Grote Markt. We are unlucky that it is not working. Normally, you see water spraying from the severed hand and even from the neck and the arm of the dead giant.”

The fountain depicts the legend of soldier Brabo, who chopped off the hand of Druon Antigoon, a giant who terrorized Antwerp. “Foreign tourists often find it a gruesome murder scene. We Antwerpians do not lose any sleep over it. Those who touch our city must pay the price (laughs).”

The statue was unveiled in 1887. “It is a design by sculptor Jef Lambeaux. He created it on commission from Nottebohm, a well-known Antwerp family with German roots. They paid 100,000 francs for it back then. By the way, this is the only naked Brabo we have in Antwerp. Lambeaux wanted to depict the soldier in a timeless way. Nothing is more timeless, of course, than an Adam’s suit.”

The statue is made of bronze. “Besides Brabo and the giant, you can also discover sea nymphs, a sea lion, a waterspider, fish, and a lizard with a dragon's head. The boats refer to the Scheldt. And the castle on which Brabo stands is a three-dimensional representation of the then city logo. The rocks on which the statue rests have recently been restored, as the water from the fountain was seeping through them.”

GVA - Gazet van Antwerpen