The Wetz d’Amain statue

The statue, erected in 1896 in memory of Father Halluin (a benefactor to whom we owe many orphanages in the region) on the square of the same name. The square represents one of the lowest points in the city. Until the end of the 19th century there was a water mill there. Its name comes from the old French “Wez dame Emmain”, itself derived from Latin which meant “drinking trough of Lady Emma”. On this square, there remains the Mont-Saint-Eloi refuge (16th century), a building where the members of the Mont-Saint-Eloi abbey came to retreat in the event of conflict.