Gedenkteken voor de gesneuvelden van Berchem

The monument to Berchem’s fallen, inaugurated on 6 July 1930, is located at the intersection of Elisabethlaan and Koninklijkelaan in Berchem. The monument was erected in memory of the soldiers from Berchem who died during the First World War and was designed by sculptor Josuë Dupon and architect Emiel Van Averbeke. It consists of a tall column with the Latin inscription “Pax” (peace) at the top. On top of the column stands a female figure on a winged horse, holding a fallen soldier in her arms, symbolising both the victory and the sacrifice of the soldiers.  

Josuë Dupon (1864–1935) was a sculptor and engraver, best known for his realistic animal sculptures. He attended evening classes at the academies of Roeselare and Antwerp and later studied at the National Higher Institute of Fine Arts. From 1905 to 1934, he was a professor of sculpture at the Antwerp Academy and a member of the governing board of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts.  

Emiel Van Averbeke (1876–1946) was an architect who played an important role in the development of Antwerp’s architecture in the early twentieth century. He began his career in the Art Nouveau style and later evolved towards Rationalism. From 1920 onwards, Van Averbeke served as Antwerp’s chief city architect.