WATERLOO BATTLE FIELD RENOVATION

For the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, important works are done on the site of the Lion. They  had started in 2012 and should be finished by 2015. It had been a long time since I hadn't been there although it's only a few Km from home. When I arrived I saw a battle field on a battle field !



Still standing was the Panorama, in which the whole battle is painted in 3D and of course the Lion. Despite the very cold wind, brave tourists climbed up the 253 steps to the Lion from which you have a beautiful view over the battle field.





For the moment there are two other hills besides the Lion hill and everywhere they are digging holes !
The old farms around which once had served as head quarters to the officers and soldiers are being renovated which was about time, many of them hadn't changed  look since nearly 200 years.





The road was closed and the place where the underground memorial is been built paintings of the battle cover the ugly grids.





It had rained a lot lately and the construction site looked terrible.



Even Napoleon was behind bars, but still overlooking proudly the scene where he had lost the battle of his life.

This project should become a total restauration of the battlefield which is expected to find the " dreary plain " described by Victor Hugo in "Les Misérables".

What will change on the site of the Lion of Waterloo?



The Wellington Café will be demolished, which is a real pity. Waterloo's residents will miss it, each afternoon people can dance and meet here  and it's also a very nice place to have a drink. For the moment it is the only place on the site where you can have something to eat and drink from 10 am on.






The Museum hotel will be completely transformed and will contain a restaurant, a Brasserie (kind of Pub) , which will offer large outdoor terraces overlooking the hill and fields.

Nearly 20,000 square meters (50 acres) of land will be given back to agricultural activity , allowing the return of the "open field" character " of the battlefield and its surroundings .

A memorial is being built instead of the parking space and the former Hotel de la Paix, which has been demolished, as it was built around 100 years after the battle and therefore was not part of the original battle field and buildings.

The Memorial is totally under ground and the roof, probably covered with grass




And so it looks from a helicopter ! These pictures were taken end July 2013. (Not by me)

Here is a link to the Memorial how it should look like. Amazing !

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