Fontaine Place Vert - Spa

This fountain is located on the Place Verte where the Rue Collin Leloup begins. It is a model Montier-en-Der N° 7 fountain.

Collin Leloup is regarded as the founder of le nouveau-Spa . Le Vieux Spa in this respect is the slopes and hills around Spa. Following legend:

“At that time ( early 14th century) a hundred hovels stood on two small hills along the Barisart stream , that is to say on the Thier and the Croupet Lohet. Collin, called the Wolf (because he worked in the forest) , originally from Breda , had been suffering from a depressing illness for some time. He took it upon himself to drink water regularly from a fountain where it welled up in the open air, between four slate slabs, in the middle of a meadow . This source would become famous in the sequel under the name of Pouhon . Our patient recovered well after a period of treatment.

Collin le Loup had his blacksmith shop on the current location of the retirement home. He had a house built near the famous spring , which was the cradle of the new spa. The fame of the healing spring brought many visitors around it. Collin le Loup then had an inn built for them. Thus, he not only became the founder of the Nouveau-Spa, but also the founder of the hotel industry. For the needs of his industry, Collin le Loup bought from the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Adolphe de la Marck, 12 bonniers of wood near the source. He cleared the places that were gradually covered with houses to create a winding street - the current rue du Marché. Collin le Loup left many descendants, many of whom were renowned administrators and artists..."

What can we learn from this legend?
Albin Body has shown in his research that Collin le Loup was not originally from Breda (in the Netherlands) but that Breda came from the malformation of a nickname of the Spade family (We know the Heid Bredar, a wooded hill near Hammer). So it is certainly, according to Albin Body, a native.
Albin Body confirms that this legend was built from scratch by Wolff (meaning Wolf) in his work "Le Guide des Curieux", published in 1814. This legend was created "in honor of a family of wealthy bourgeois from Spa". Wolff could therefore claim to count the founder of Spa among his ancestors.

In conclusion, we cannot say that Collin le Loup is the inventor of the New Spa , nor that he is from the Netherlands. Nevertheless, 1326 can be considered as one of the important moments in the evolution of our city. There is no question, however, that the Leloups and the Wolffs have provided our city with many quality artists and administrators.

Willem Vandenameele