Think of a milkmaid. She cheated her customers. Now meet La Laitière Het Melkboerinnetje statue. This statue stands on Rue au Beurre in Brussels. It is in front of Saint Nicholas Church. The Grand Place is nearby. Sculptor Marc de Vos created it. The statue is based on a legend from the 1670s.
La Laitière is a copy of the original. The original was made in 1687. It decorated a fountain near Saint Nicholas Church. In 1787, the statue moved to Brussels Park. Rioters damaged it badly in 1830. Later, in the 20th century, a copy was made. It was placed on a blue stone pedestal. The sculpture returned to its original spot in 1922. In 2006, La Laitière was renovated.
The legend began in the 1670s. A young milkmaid sold milk in Brussels. She dreamed of becoming rich quickly. So she cheated her customers. First, she added water to the milk. Then, she used a fake measuring tool. Buyers got less milk for their money. She lived this way her whole life.
After death, she went to heaven’s gate. Saint Peter refused her entry. He made her wander Brussels streets. She had to cry out at midnight every night. Brussels residents feared her ghost. They avoided the city at night. The people begged Amman to dig up her body. They wanted her to have a proper burial. Amman and the aldermen agreed. This ended the milkmaid’s ghostly legend.
Today, La Laitière statue warns merchants. They should always act honestly. They should never cheat their customers.
The statue once adorned a pump. It was moved to a neglected park area. For a long time, it was without a head. Around 1918, it returned to its birthplace. The original fountain is gone. But the milkmaid’s story deserves its place here.
Marc Devos created La Laitière. It was in memory of a real milkmaid. Her legend was known to all Brussels residents. She sold milk. But she was a thief. She used a small measure. She watered down her milk. After death, she faced Saint Peter. He refused her entry to paradise. He made her roam Brussels as a ghost. She cried “Half milk! Measured fraudulently! Forget the soul.”
Her ghost caused great fear. To stop this, officials exhumed her body. They found her neck and chest eaten by worms. According to the legend, her ghost stopped haunting Brussels after this.