The fountain in Verviers, eastern Belgium, hands over objects it has been keeping for more than a century.
It was the heart of the city’s first mayor.
The organ, sealed in a jar of alcohol in a small zinc coffin.
The chest was found during a fountain renovation.
The chest is now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Mayor Pierre David died in 1839, but the fountain, named after him, was inaugurated only in 1883.
An engraving on the coffin reads “Pierre David’s heart was solemnly placed on this monument on June 25, 1883”, the inscription read.
The chest was tucked away in a gap in the fountain.
Verviers public works councilor Maxime Degey said “The urban legend has come true: the coffin sits at the top of the fountain, right near the chest of the statue of Pierre David, behind a rock we had removed during the fountain renovation.”
The broadcaster RTBF quoted information that the coffin found by construction workers on August 20 was “in very perfect condition”.
Historically, the mayor Pierre David died in the fall at the age of 68, while he was working in a thatched attic.
The city government raised funds to build a monument in her honor.
Then with the consent of his family, the surgeon removed his heart so that it could be buried in the monument.
The official website, verviers.be, says it took decades for the city to raise enough money to erect a monument with adequate ornamentation.
Meanwhile, there was also debate about how best to honor the city’s first mayor, before the fountain at Place Verte was built.
Later, Belgian independence came after the revolution against Dutch rule in 1830, and that year Pierre David was re-elected as mayor.
The mayor is remembered primarily for establishing a fire service in Verviers in 1802.
Where the service is a rare innovation at that time.
Selin’s Verviers were also badly damaged in the rebellion of 1830.
However, Pierre David managed to restore order in the city, due to which he was highly respected.
