Barrage de la Gileppe

 Belgium > Wallonia > Liège > Baelen

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One of the oldest gravity dams in Europe. Its opening took place on July 28, 1878 in the presence of King Leopold II. Initially, the reservoir capacity was 12 million cubic meters. m, and in 1921 it was increased to more than 25 million cubic meters. m. The reservoir area is 86 ha. A monumental figure of a lion with a height of 13.5 m and a weight of 300 tons is installed in the center of the dam. The lion looks towards the Prussian border, which was located at a distance of about 5 kilometers during the construction of the dam. This is the work of Antoine-Felix Bure, carved from pieces of soft sandstone of the Sere Valley.