The news was announced by Serge Wilmes, a member of the municipal executive board (Schäfferot), during the city breakfast on Wednesday morning. For 90 years, the inhabitants of Luxembourg City have shared their city with the legendary animal, the anti-hero of Michel Rodange’s eponymous fable De Renert.
The fox statue, which stands on the edge of Place Guillaume II and in the shadow of city hall, had to be removed from its pedestal after a report from the city’s construction department found that the fox was tilting backwards. “The monument needs to be stabilised,” Wilmes explained.
And for good reason: the porous sandstone sculpture has deteriorated since it was erected there in 1932. The whole structure is weakened “because of the water that flows off the square. The water has been seeping in for about ten years,” according to Wilmes. And “the vibrations” linked to the extension of the underground car park “have further destabilised it”, the local politician from the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) admits.
The scaffolding has been in place for two days, and a second examination is being conducted to “determine how to restore it,” Wilmes stated. The statue will be kept in a “den” owned by the Roads Department until waterproofing under the square’s balustrade is completed.
Wilmes promised that Rodange’s anti-hero will return to his original location “when the renovated square is inaugurated.” According to Mayor Lydie Polfer, “the work should be finished by the Pentecost holidays of 2023 at the latest.”
It should be noted that the sandstone sculpture is in fact a replica. Since 1981, the original statue has been in the possession of the City Museum.
