Young Ludwig and grandfather Lodewijk Van Beethoven - Mechelen

In the Haverwerf del Dijle there is a statue of Ludwig, the grandson of Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712), who with a rose on his back looks at his grandfather, who is carrying a sheet of music.

The composer Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in Germany and spent much of his life in Vienna . However, his last name contains the Dutch "van" and not the German "von". Ludwig owes it to his ancestors. They came from Mechelen.

Ludwig inherited his musical talent from his grandfather , Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712-1773). As a child, this baker 's son had a beautiful voice and sang in the children's choir school Het Koralen Huis in St. Rombold's Cathedral in Mechelen. Later he received private lessons on the church organ. After a brief stopover in Leuven, Lodewijk made his way to Liège in 1732, where he was appointed cantor at St Lambert's Cathedral. A year later he moved to Bonn in Germany, where his grandson Ludwig was born in 1770.

The street where Lodewijk lived is now called Van Beethovenstraat. One of the bridges over the Dijle is also named after Van Beethoven

Willem Vandenameele