Memorial interallié de Cointe, Art Deco war memorial in Cointe, Belgium
Memorial interallié de Cointe is an Art Deco war memorial on a hill overlooking Liège, featuring a 75 meter tower paired with a church complex. The site combines the tall structure with chapel spaces and religious areas that organize the grounds and house different national memorials.
Construction began in 1928 under architect Joseph Smolderen and finished in 1937, created to honor the sacrifice of Allied nations in World War I. The project expressed a desire for European reconciliation during the interwar period.
Eight Allied nations are represented by monuments: Italy, France, Romania, Spain, Greece, Britain, Poland and Russia. Spain's plaque thanks the neutral country for humanitarian aid, and Greece's monument is a pyramid of 114 Spartan-style helmets, inaugurated in 1988; three were stolen soon after and twelve more in 2020.
Access to the tower and church is limited to three annual events: Pentecost weekend, Heritage Days, and Belgian National Day. It is best to check in advance which areas will be open during your planned visit.
The church dome contains 13 tons of copper sheets from Katanga, processed in local factories of Chênée. This material links the memorial to the region's industrial past in an unexpected way.
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