Art Nouveau House - Rue du fer - Namur

The building is dated around 1900 and although symmetrical in construction, you can still see a tile band with the typical Art Nouveau whiplash motif above the second floor. A large cast iron arch spans the wide central window, where ladies on the left and right have difficulty keeping up on this facade, apparently a strong spring breeze blows through their clothes. Are they daffodils surrounding them?

The Rue de Fer was once part of the Roman highway Bavay-Cologne . In 1388 the Samson Gate appeared as a city gate . It was fitted with iron doors around 1600 and that may explain the street name. But the forges that processed the iron ore from the Bocq and Molignée valleys were also traditionally located here, so perhaps the street name refers to that.

Today it is the connection between the station and the city center . But you can no longer discover that city gate, it was demolished in 1862. '

Willem Vandenameele