Leopold II

This statue of Leopold II, Belgium’s second king, has the particular distinction of being both the very first public statue of the monarch in the country – created in 1873 – and the first monumental likeness of him to be removed from public space, in 2020. 

The stone statue depicts the young king wearing a ceremonial military uniform. The monument was commissioned to mark Leopold II’s visit to Ekeren in 1869, on his way to a military base in Brasschaat. The statue crowned a newly erected monumental pedestal and water pump on Ekeren’s market square, at the site of the former pillory and communal well. 

After its inauguration in 1873, the pump column was demolished in 1960, and the statue was placed on a more modest pedestal elsewhere on the square. During the redesign of the square in 1993, the work was moved from this central location to a place in the shadow of Saint Lambert’s Church, on a simple bluestone pedestal. 

Although Dcaju’s work was erected in 1873, before the Congo Free State was established as Leopold II’s private domain in 1885, statues in his honour are generally regarded as symbols of Belgium’s colonial history in Congo. Already during Leopold II’s reign, there was international political protest, as well as local uprisings, against the exploitation and violence that characterised his rule in the Congo Free State. Wars of conquest, repression, forced labour, famine and epidemics took the lives of countless Congolese people. While no official census records were kept, research has shown that under Leopold II’s regime, the Congolese population declined by some 8 to 10 million people. 

In light of this exploitation and decimation of the local population, statues of Leopold II can be seen as glorifications or tacit justifications of these facts. They sharply raise the question: “Which stories, figures and events do we commemorate in public space?” 

The decision to remove the statue in 2020 followed repeated and escalating acts of vandalism. The first documented protest action against this statue (covering the statue with red paint, symbolising blood) took place in 2007, followed by a similar one in 2009. Between 16 May and 3 June 2020, three incidents occurred, culminating in the statue being set on fire. 

On 4 June 2020, the mayor of Antwerp and the district mayor decided to have the statue removed. On 9 June 2020, the pedestal was dismantled and the statue transported to a closed museum depot, where it remains to this date. More information about this collection piece and its history can be found on this page.       

Joseph-Jacques Ducaju (1823–1891) was a Belgian sculptor and architect. He studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and became known for his monumental works and portraits.