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The Golden Virgin
The Golden Virgin, also known as The Leaning Virgin, is a gilded sculpture by the French artist Albert Roze originally completed in 1897 and installed on the rooftop of the Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières) in Albert, France. Regarded as a symbol of French resilience during World War I, the artwork portrays the Virgin Mary presenting Christ Child heavenward.
In 1915, German shelling knocked over the statue, and it nearly toppled again due to shellfire during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. After falling in 1918 as a result of British bombardment, the statue went missing. Its destruction took on mythical proportions, with the anticipated toppling believed to influence the war's outcome. Eventually, the statue was recast and replaced in 1929.
The Golden Virgin was designed by French sculptor Albert Roze in 1897 and it was placed atop the Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières. The sculpture depicts a golden-colored Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ high above her head. The sculpture was covered with 40,000 sheets of gold leaf. It also was 5 m (16 ft) tall and there were 238 steps leading to the sculpture. More and more pilgrims continued to visit the site and Pope Leo XIII was made aware, and visited the site in 1898. Leo XIII christened the church and seeing The Golden Virgin, he called the basilica the "Lourdes of the North". The sculpture was fastened atop the bell tower. In 1915, it was leaning after 2,000 shells hit the town and basilica. Engineers fastened a chain to prevent it from toppling.
The sculpture was installed atop the basilica in 1897. By 1910, it was a landmark atop the basilica. The sculpture was a prominent landmark in the sixth stage of the Circuit de l'Est. Two pilots, Alfred Leblanc and Émile Aubrun, used the sculpture as a compass and it was referred to in a news article as the "famous golden virgin". In August 1910, one of the pilots, Aubrun, flew circles around the sculpture with his Blériot XI aircraft in order to get a closer look. When asked about his laps around the statue he said,
Not having occasion to see such a site every day, I made the best of it and examined the statue from near at hand making several circles round it.
In 1914, World War I had begun and 80 percent of the German Army had mobilized and were positioned on the Western Front. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France. In 1914, German forces suspected a French observation post was housed in the church's bell tower so beginning in October 1914, they shelled the dome. In 1915, during the Battle of the Somme, the sculpture was shelled and left leaning at an angle of more than 90 degrees to the vertical axis.
By 7 January 1915, the dome was destroyed and by 21 January, the base of the statue was hit and the statue "tilted alarmingly". Although artillery shells destroyed much of the town of Albert, the statue of Mary remained attached to the Basilica but was tilted at an extreme angle.
Many soldiers were superstitious and they studied the sculpture daily; they wrote about it in their diaries and remarked that it was knocked over and threatening to fall at any time. Messages about the statue were passed between troops; it was often said to be a portent; "When the Virgin falls, the war will end". Soldiers also said whoever knocked down the statue would lose the war.
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The Golden Virgin
The Golden Virgin, also known as The Leaning Virgin, is a gilded sculpture by the French artist Albert Roze originally completed in 1897 and installed on the rooftop of the Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières) in Albert, France. Regarded as a symbol of French resilience during World War I, the artwork portrays the Virgin Mary presenting Christ Child heavenward.
In 1915, German shelling knocked over the statue, and it nearly toppled again due to shellfire during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. After falling in 1918 as a result of British bombardment, the statue went missing. Its destruction took on mythical proportions, with the anticipated toppling believed to influence the war's outcome. Eventually, the statue was recast and replaced in 1929.
The Golden Virgin was designed by French sculptor Albert Roze in 1897 and it was placed atop the Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières. The sculpture depicts a golden-colored Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ high above her head. The sculpture was covered with 40,000 sheets of gold leaf. It also was 5 m (16 ft) tall and there were 238 steps leading to the sculpture. More and more pilgrims continued to visit the site and Pope Leo XIII was made aware, and visited the site in 1898. Leo XIII christened the church and seeing The Golden Virgin, he called the basilica the "Lourdes of the North". The sculpture was fastened atop the bell tower. In 1915, it was leaning after 2,000 shells hit the town and basilica. Engineers fastened a chain to prevent it from toppling.
The sculpture was installed atop the basilica in 1897. By 1910, it was a landmark atop the basilica. The sculpture was a prominent landmark in the sixth stage of the Circuit de l'Est. Two pilots, Alfred Leblanc and Émile Aubrun, used the sculpture as a compass and it was referred to in a news article as the "famous golden virgin". In August 1910, one of the pilots, Aubrun, flew circles around the sculpture with his Blériot XI aircraft in order to get a closer look. When asked about his laps around the statue he said,
Not having occasion to see such a site every day, I made the best of it and examined the statue from near at hand making several circles round it.
In 1914, World War I had begun and 80 percent of the German Army had mobilized and were positioned on the Western Front. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France. In 1914, German forces suspected a French observation post was housed in the church's bell tower so beginning in October 1914, they shelled the dome. In 1915, during the Battle of the Somme, the sculpture was shelled and left leaning at an angle of more than 90 degrees to the vertical axis.
By 7 January 1915, the dome was destroyed and by 21 January, the base of the statue was hit and the statue "tilted alarmingly". Although artillery shells destroyed much of the town of Albert, the statue of Mary remained attached to the Basilica but was tilted at an extreme angle.
Many soldiers were superstitious and they studied the sculpture daily; they wrote about it in their diaries and remarked that it was knocked over and threatening to fall at any time. Messages about the statue were passed between troops; it was often said to be a portent; "When the Virgin falls, the war will end". Soldiers also said whoever knocked down the statue would lose the war.