This monument is without doubt the most well-known monument in De Panne. It was here that Leopold I, the first King of Belgium, first set foot in Belgium on 17 July 1831. In memory of this event, this impressive monument was erected at the end of the Leopold-I Esplanade.
Photo gallery
Artist
René Cliquet
Monument
When Belgium became independent in 1830, the country needed a king. After considering several other candidates, Leopold was asked in 1831 to become king of the new state. On 17 July 1831, the then Prince Leopold of Saksen-Coburg-Gotha arrived at Calais by ship from England. Accompanied by a squadron of French cavalry, he rode from Dunkirk over the beach to De Panne. At the border, the Minister of the Interior de Sauvage and Generals Chastelain, Comte d'Haene and Baron d'Hoogvorste awaited the new king. Acting mayor Ryckeboer, of the then independent Adinkerke, represented the local population. De Panne itself was then only a hamlet, belonging to Adinkerke.
The bronze statue of the sovereign, made by artist René Cliquet, is placed in a monumental triumphal arch following a design by architect Victor Martiny, and was created by the National Committee of the Monument Leopold I in De Panne. On 5 October 1958, Mayor Gevaert inaugurated the monument in the presence of King Boudewijn and Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens.
Inscription
The triumphal arch has a Latin inscription on it:
Hic Leopoldus primus Belgarum rex XVIIa die mensis Julii Ao MDCCCXXXI terram belgicam ingressus est et solemniter receptus.
This means:
Here, on the 17th day of the month of July in 1831, Leopold, the first king of Belgium, arrived on Belgian soil and was solemnly received.
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