Lion’s Mound - Waterloo, Belgium
Posted by: ToRo61
N 50° 40.712 E 004° 24.295
31U E 599260 N 5615018
The stairway on the battlefield.
Waymark Code: WMP6XB
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Date Posted: 07/11/2015
Views: 12
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815. A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition, comprising an Anglo-allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, combined with a Prussian army under the command of Prince Blücher. Two large forces under Wellington and Blücher assembled close to the north-eastern border of France. Napoleon chose to attack in the hope of destroying them before they could join in a coordinated invasion of France with other members of the coalition. Waterloo was the decisive engagement of the Waterloo Campaign and Napoleon's last. The defeat at Waterloo ended Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French, and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile.
In 1820, the Netherlands' King William I ordered the construction of a monument. The Lion Mound (
visit link) , a giant mound, was constructed here using 300,000 cubic metres. Apart from the Lion Mound, there are several other monuments throughout the battlefield.
The Lion's Mound gives a unique view of the battlefield after a memorable climb of 226 steps.
This 40m tumulus was erected on the spot where it is thought that the Prince of Orange was wounded before he became the King of the Netherlands.
The Mound symbolizes the victory of the allied monarchies.