Monuments Class Projects
Architect/Sculptor of Monument
Charles Vander Straeten (1771-1834) & Jean-Louis Van Geel (1787-1852)
Preview
Identifier
25a
Medium
Photograph, carte-de-viste
Keywords
Lion’s Mound, Lions Mound, Charles Vander Straeten, Battle of Waterloo, Waterloo, Belgium, Braine-l'Alleud, Wallonia, Walloon Brabant, Napoleonic Wars, Mound, King William I of Netherlands, William ll of Netherlands, Battle of Quatre Bras, Lion Hill, Lion's Hamlet
Date of Publication
1865-1889
Name of Monument
Lion's Mound
Date of Creation of Monument
1826
City of Monument
Braine-l'Alleud
State/Province of Monument
Wallonia/Walloon Brabant
Country of Monument
Belgium
Description
This monument is a man made mound that commemorates the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo (1815) in Belgium. The neoclassical sculpture of a lion honors the soldiers who fought in both battles, particularly the valor of the Prince of Orange, later William II (1792-1849), who was wounded on the battlefield. The mound was created in 1823-1826 by the order of his father William I of the Netherlands (1772-1843). The 28 ton lion statue by Jean-Louis Van Geel was added on top in 1826, and a staircase was built in 1863-1864. The Battle of Waterloo marked the end to the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.
School of Art/Architecture
Neoclassical
Publisher
Dechamps & Cie, Brussels
Digital Date
2-7-2025
Copyright
Physical copy of the carte-de-visite is in the public domain. Digital copy scanned by Rod library ©2025 Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
File Format
image/jpeg
Comments
T
The Lion’s Mound in Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium rises over the flat landscape that surrounds it. The land it sits on was once a great battlefield where 72,000 French soldiers under the command of Napoleon (1769-1821) lost to 118,000 allied troops under the Duke of Wellington (1769–1852) and General Gebhard Leberecht von Blüche (1742-1819). The battle marked the end of Napoleon’s final campaign, on June 18, 1815.
The man-made mound sits on the site of the Battles of Waterloo and Quatre Bras. The Battle of Quatre Bras took place at a nearby crossroads, two days before the larger Battle of Waterloo changed the course of European history. At Quatre Bras, Wellington’s largely British forces won the skirmish by gaining the field at the end, but the French blocked the advance of Wellington's forces. This prevented the British from helping their allies, the Prussians led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blüche, who were also fighting against the main French army. A few days later, the conflict resumed at Waterloo. In that bloody battle, Wellington and von Blüche won. This marked the final battle in the Napoleonic Wars as Napoleon was defeated and lost power in France for good.
The mound itself was commissioned by King William I of the Netherlands who reigned for 35 years (1815-1840) before abdicating. The Netherlands fought in Wellington’s Coalition. One Dutch soldier was William l’s son, the Prince of Orange, who later became King William II (reigned 1840-1849). He was wounded in the battle, near where the mound now rises, getting shot in the shoulder before going to a nearby farm to recover. This mound was built to honor the battles, but focused on the Netherland’s heroic prince.
The Lion’s Mound is a cone-shaped man-made structure. It stands roughly 141 feet above the ground, with a diameter of 554 feet and circumference of 1,710 feet around. The mound consists of nearly 300,000 cubic meters of dirt taken from nearby farm fields. Visitors climb 226 steps to reach its peak, where they are welcomed by a massive cast iron lion. The lion symbolizes the alliance between English and Dutch in fighting the French. The lion was put up after the mound was constructed in 1826, but the stairs did not get built until 1863-1864. The King turned to Charles Vander Straeten (1771-1834) to design the mound. Both Vander Straeten and Jean-Louis Van Geel (1787-1852) designed the mound and statue in the Neoclassical style that was popular at the time. Vander Straeten drew upon the influence and inspiration of classical antiquity. This meant that the mound was very simple, but created on a grand scale in a conical shape. Some of that inspiration came from ancient commemorative mounds in ancient Greece and Rome.
The mound’s bareness is in stark contrast to the highly detailed lion, which displays its muscles and great mane. Today, the Lion’s Mound is a focal point in touring the Waterloo battlefield. Across the street from it is a museum about the battle itself. From the mound, visitors can see the fields on which the battle was fought, which is now farmland.
Bibliography:
“Battle of Waterloo.” National Army Museum, National Army Museum, www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-waterloo. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
Charpagne, Antoine. “Lion’s Mound - Memorial of the Battle of Waterloo 1815.” Domaine de La Bataille de Waterloo 1815, Kleberrossillon, 10 Oct. 2022, www.waterloo1815.be/en/lion-mound/.
“Fotoatelier Dechamps & Cie :: Museum-Digital.” Museum, 20 Dec. 2023, global.museum-digital.org/people/208707.