Monument to Walloon Literature and Song - Tournai

Monument to Walloon Literature and Song was inaugurated on August 15, 1931 and was designed by Paul Du Bois with the help of architect Jules Wilbaux.

It was firstly erected on the same site as the "pichou saint Piat" fountain, which had been in an obvious state of disrepair for more than half a century; second, the monument was a fountain , which became relatively rare as the 20th century progressed; and third, it was devoted to both a person, Achille Viehard, and a theme, "To Walloon literature and the Walloon song".

Besides the fact that the monument is colored (red and gold), it should also be noted that although the monument honors a historical figure, this person only appears through his name written on the stone and through the mention of his sideline, his hobby, Walloon literature.

Achille Viehard (Tournai 1850 - Tournai 1926) initially worked as a typesetter , before taking on administrative tasks in his native town and being appointed director of the retirement home in Sint-Katelijnestraat.

He was also the first to stage comedies and scenes from popular life in Tournai: from 1888, people flocked to the salons of the Hôtel des Neuf Provinces to see his performances.

The monument/fountain only speaks of this aspect. The small granite stele of Soignies testifies to this: from top to bottom, seven round buttons, the coat of arms of Tournai in a circle colored red and gold , followed by the inscription:

A LA LITTERATURE
ET A
LA CHANSON
WALLONNES

Next comes a (golden) faun who spits water out of his mouth; bunches of grapes are mixed in his hair . The main stele ends with the identification of the patrons.

Architect Jules Wilbaux (Tournai 1884 - Tournai 1955) designed this whole, which is further enriched by a sculpture by Paul Dubois depicting the "titi" of Tournai, sitting unbalanced on the lower edge of the fountain.

Willem Vandenameele