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A heart in the fountain

A heart in the fountain

Place Verte 19, 4800 Verviers, Belgium

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#Urban legends
Holly Golightly Holly Golightly
Fountain David in the center of Vervier was named after the city’s first mayor, Pierre David. The monument didn’t only carry his name: the mayor’s own heart was hidden inside. Or so said the legend, according to which following the mayor’s death in 1839 Vervier city authorities started a campaign to collect funds to build a monument in his honour. In the meantime, with his family's consent, the surgeons removed Pierre David’s heart and preserved it. It took over 40 years to collect the money, but in the end the project went ahead and the mayor’s heart was finally entombed inside the fountain. Time went by, and for over a century this had been considered a myth that everyone knew but hardly anyone believed in. Until in August 2020 the urban legend suddenly turned out to be true. During renovation works, a small zink casket was found inside the fountain. An engraving on the casket said: "The heart of Pierre David was solemnly placed in the monument on 25 June 1883". Inside the casket, there was an ethanol-filled jar containing a human heart, Pierre David’s heart. The mayor quite literally left his heart in his city.

The casket was temporarily put on display in the Vervier Fine Arts Museum as part of the exhibition dedicated to Pierre David and his achievements. It will be returned to the fountain when the renovation is complete.

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Written by Holly Golightly

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