A mysterious bronze electricity mast stands at the crossroads of Avenue Louis Bertrand and Avenue Paul Deschanel in the Brussels commune of Schaerbeek. The base is decorated with a scene representing tigers fighting snakes.
It was designed by the Belgian sculptor Jacques de Lalaing for the Ghent World Fair of 1913. He started working on the design in 1887 to illustrate the new possibilities of electric lighting in public spaces.
The sculptor originally intended the mast to be placed in front of the town hall on Grand Place but the city rejected it as unfitting. It was eventually displayed at the Ghent World Expo and gifted to Schaerbeek in 1926.
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.
