Statue of Ambiorix

The most famous (infamous?) resident of Tongeren was given the most prominent place in the city. The imposing bronze statue of Eburone King Ambiorix from 1866 honors the memorable victory over the Romans in 54 BC. It was not for nothing that Julius Caesar called the Belgians the bravest of all Gauls. Ambiorix poses in Germanic costume, with an ax as his weapon of choice and a dragon helmet. His feet trample the weapons of the defeated Roman opponents. The statue's fence consists of spears, boar heads and arrows, in the style of Celtic traditions.

In 1841, the poet Joannes Nolet de Brauwere van Steeland drew attention to Ambiorix with a lyrical epic.
In 1860, the Tongeren city council decided, at the request of the then Tongeren Oudheidkundig Genootschap, to apply for a subsidy for the erection of a statue of Ambiorix. This subsidy was granted in 1865. The total price was estimated at 35,000 Fr, of which the Belgian State would pay 21,650 Fr. The difference would be paid by the Province of Limburg and the city of Tongeren.
The order for the statue was given to the French artist Jules Bertin, who was living in Tongeren at the time, and completed the work of art under the artistic direction of Guillaume Geefs in 1866. In 1890, Bertin would create another statue for Ambiorix's successor in Gallic history, "Vercingetorix". This statue was the mirror image of the Ambiorix statue of Tongeren and stood in Saint-Denis, but was destroyed during the Second World War.
The statue was placed on the Grote Markt in Tongeren, on the site where the platform used to be, and stands on a 3-metre high natural stone pedestal that was built in the shape of a prehistoric dolmen.
The statue was officially unveiled on 5 September 1866, in the presence of His Majesty King Leopold II and his wife Queen Marie-Henrietta.
The eagle disappeared in 1965 due to the actions of a group of drunk students. One of them had climbed onto the statue, lost his grip and caused the eagle to break off in his fall. It was recovered and replaced more than half a century later.