It looks like a prehistoric monument on the hill above Nandrin village. The massive marble blocks dominate the landscape in this remote region of the Ardennes. But they have nothing to do with ancient history.
The monument is just over 30 years old. It was created in 1991 by the acclaimed Portuguese sculptor Joäo Charters de Almeida out of 56,000 kilos of rare Rose Aurore marble. And it was unveiled to mark the Europalia Portugal cultural festival in 1991.
The monument is surrounded by a circle of 12 standing stones representing the 12 stars of the European flag. It stands in the rain and wind as a solid monument of European integration in a region of Belgium where the last great battle in Western Europe was fought in 1944.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
