Memorial Albert de Dion, automobile pioneer.

Near Dion's shaft is a work by sculptor Siob. At first sight, it is a rather meaningless stela, built in natural stone. But if you look closer, you will see the bronze plaque depicting an antique automobile and the text: «En mémoire du marquis Albert de Dion, pionnier de l'automobile. Dion-le-Val, berceau de la famille de Dion.» For connoisseurs, the image on the engraving is that of the "Populaire", a famous model of Dion-Bouton cars.

But who exactly was Albert de Dion? Jules Philippe Félix Albert de Dion, Marquis de Malifrance, was born in Carquefou, near Nantes, on March 8, 1856. He met Georges Bouton, a Parisian engineer who designed a small steam engine. Together they stood at the cradle of the esteemed car brand 'Dion-Bouton'. In 1903 came success with the 'Populaire'. Revolutionary was the idea of moving the engine to the front axle and covering it with a metal bonnet. From that moment on, the archetype of a car with the hood at the front was born. The Dion-Bouton company stopped producing passenger cars in 1932 and ceased all other activities in 1948, two years after the death of the marquis. The marquis won the Paris-Rouen rally in 1894 with his Dion-Bouton in front of 31 other participants. In 1895 he founded the 'Automobile-Club de France'.

Apparently, the marquis came several times to Dion-le-Val, the land of his ancestors. These visits were legendary among the locals because the marquis was accompanied by his black driver, the Abyssinian Zelele. Each time he visited the castle, the church and the cemetery where there is a tombstone of his ancestors.

The monument dates back to 2004, but the idea was not new. During the commemoration of the first automobile race of 1888, Count Geoffroy de Beaufort came to Dion-le-Val, at the wheel of his "Populaire", where he expressed the desire to erect a monument to "the father of the automobile". The foundation stone was laid in 1958. But due to lack of interest from the municipality, the project did not get off the ground. The current memorial is an initiative of the non-profit organisation 'Auto moto retro'.

Jan Rymenams