HUGE RENOVATION PROJECT ON WATERLOO's BATTLE FIELDS

As the weather was so nice I decided to go to the Waterloo Lion and make some pictures.



Despite the cold there were many tourists which full of courage had climbed up the 253 steps !



Napoleon was at his usual place which was muddy and wet and full of puddles.



Here too everything seemed normal.





Pictures of the battle on the fence



the parking full of cars



and the old farms which once had housed the high graded soldiers of the battle were there untouched except that they had been all transformed into restaurants.



and then I discovered a huge hole just besides the Lion



The site of the Battle of Waterloo will be completely renovated ! The goal is to be ready for the bicentenary of the battle in June 2015.The huge hole is for the construction of an underground memorial  partly buried, with inside a 3D reconstruction, a staging by Franco Dragone ( known for his work with Cirque du Soleil and Celine Dion) to immerse visitors in the world of battle between the balls guns and bayonets.

 

It is a very grand and ambitious project !



During the excavation the skeleton of a soldier was found last year. First it was taken for a French soldier, then an English one, but now it is sure that it was a German soldier. He was between 20 to 30  years old. He was killed by a french bullet and some Hanoverian money was found on him. It's amazing what today's scientists can find out !




The once so bloody fields where Wellington (UK) lost around 15,000 soldiers,  Blücher (Germany) some 7,000 , and Napoleon 25,000  are today farmer's grounds and cultivated.





This old tree witnessed the battle



Where 198 years ago the canons and guns were in full action







today it is a well liked promenade





This is the Chateau d'Hougoumont  a large farmhouse situated at the bottom of an escarpment near the Lion, where British and other allied forces faced Napoleon's Army.



On the commemorative plaque is written in English and French :

In memory of the officers and men of the 2nd battalion Coldstream Guards who while defending Hougoumont Farm, successfully held this south gate from successive attack throughout 13th June 1815