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Many believe that true love transcends even death—an idea beautifully embodied in the mausoleum of Léonce Evrard and his wife, Louise Flignot. Designed by architect George de Larabrie and situated at the entrance of Laeken Cemetery in Brussels, the neoclassical chapel constructed in 1920 features a poignant sculpture of a mourner reaching out in grief. Once a year, around the summer solstice, sunlight streams into the chapel, forming the shape of a heart right where the mourner’s hand reaches.
Originally from France, Evrard and Flignot made Laeken their home in 1891. After Flignot passed away in 1916, Evrard, a skilled marble worker, was so heartbroken that he poured his grief into creating the one-of-a-kind mausoleum in her memory. He asked architect George de Larabrie to design the hexagonal chapel, and worked with sculptor Pierre Theunis to create the striking figure of a grieving woman.
Evrard died just three years after his wife, and the couple were laid to rest together in the chapel that now bears witness to their story. Each year, when the sun filters through an opening in the roof and casts a heart-shaped light on the wall above the mourner’s hand, the poignant, fleeting moment beautifully captures the lasting bond between two souls.
It’s not clear if the light display was part of the original design or an unexpected coincidence. Either way, the couple’s mausoleum has sparked plenty of mystery and lore. Even today, people still gather outside the couple’s grave each summer solstice, at 12:00 p.m. on June 21, eagerly awaiting the magical moment when the light forms the heart. Some even see it as a poetic way for them to continue communicating from beyond the grave.
The mausoleum of Léonce Evrard and Louise Flignot features a sculpture of a mourner, and once a year, sunlight forms a heart where the mourner’s hand reaches.
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Source: This is the final resting place of Léonce Evrard and his wife Louise Flignot at Cimetière de Laeken, Brussels
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