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Monument Europalia in Houffalize, Belgium

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In the rural Belgian countryside between Houffalize and La Roche-en-Ardenne sits an unusual monument: a cluster of white standing stones and a dolmen-like structure. According to Atlas Obscura, it might look prehistoric, but this ensemble was created in nineteen ninety-one for the Europalia biennial, a festival celebrating European culture. The monument consists of twelve standing stones representing the twelve European Union member states of that era, plus a dolmen symbolizing an open door. All two hundred forty blocks are carved from Portuguese pink marble and weigh between one point eight and six point six tons. The artist selected this ancient imagery because megaliths are Europe's oldest architectural evidence, found across all the original EU nations. Though the Europalia Festival typically doesn't create permanent installations, this monument has endured for over three decades in the Parc Naturel des Deux Ourthes, continuing to embody the connections binding Europe together.

Source: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/monument-europalia

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