The Franklin

This former cinema, today a restaurant, was used by the Germans from 1914 to 1918 for propaganda ends. The Germans called it the "Kino", which means "cinema" in German. They made modifications such as the installation of two flights of stairs at the front, to allow direct access to the upper room, and a workshop in the basement to repair their motorbikes. On both sides of the stage the inscriptions "Rauchen verboten", which means "no smoking", can still be seen. In 2004 Mr Cédric Michaux acquired the building and decided to bring it back to life, but with two aims: to re-evoke the era of the cinema and to preserve its charm of yesteryear by restoring it exactly as it was. Amongst other things, he had the original curtains bordering the stage restored, as well as the Virton coat of arms and also the wooden balustrade that adorned the balcony. He preserved the lounges and refurbished them as a restaurant doubling as an auditorium. During the renovation, he found lots of objects from the time. These object are conserved in one of the windows of the current Le Franklin restaurant.

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