A monument to the memory of those who passed away in the pandemic was unveiled on Wednesday 13 March – four years to the day since Belgium's first lockdown during the outbreak of Covid-19.
The memorial – titled "Onument" – commemorates some 32,000 people died from the virus in Belgium, 3,500 of them in the Brussels region. It was designed by Belgian landscape architect Bas Smets, who presented the 13 benches alongside politicians, health officials and Brussels residents. Attendees observed a minute's silence and placed flowers.
Located in Osseghem Park beside the Atomium, Smets expressed his hope that the memorial will be a place to quietly "meditate and remember" victims of the virus, "away from the hustle of everyday life in the city".
A memorial with strong symbolism
Smets described "a family of monuments" that follow the same principle but "with different variations", a design intended to reflect the virus' variants that evolved during the health crisis.
Furthermore, the monument unveiled in Brussels is one of six across the country that together form a perfect circle. All are broken by a natural element such as a stream or a tree. Smets explains that it is as though an inner natural force has broken the circle, not dissimilar to how Covid-19 "interrupted the circle of our lives."
The circle in Brussels comprises 13 separate blocks in reference to 13 March 2020 – the date of the first lockdown. Four of the other five monuments – located in Ghent, Kortrijk, Lommel and Aarschot – had already been unveiled. Wednesday saw the final pieces presented in Brussels and Leuven.
Credit: The Brussels Times / Thimoté Bozzetto
A place for sharing
The concept aims to bring people together and will serve as a space for events and activities, such as brunches and commemorations. Osseghem Park was chosen for its tranquillity, with psychiatrist Uus Knops, who contributed to the project, hoping for a calm and quiet space where people could "be healed by nature".
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Knops expressed her vision for a memorial where people share their grief with others, rather than in isolation.
Anaïs Maes, Alderwoman of Town Planning in Brussels, highlighted the importance of places of remembrance in providing a space to reflect on the "loved ones we have lost". She added that it could also be a space that people will come across by chance. The site is now accessible to the public.
