À l'innovation

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The former department store building on Rue Neuve in Brussels (photo from 1901)
Monument in the Brussels cemetery

The À l'innovation is a department store in Brussels . The department store, now operated as Galeria Inno , is particularly known for its former building by the architect Victor Horta from 1901, which was an important Art Nouveau building. In a major fire on May 22, 1967, it burned down. The fire was one of the most serious accidents in Belgium in the post-war period and was widely received in the political discourse of the time, although, as it later turned out, it was not an arson, but an accident. After 1967 a new building was built.

building

The original À l'innovation building was designed by Victor Horta and was built in 1901. It was an important Art Nouveau building. After the fire in May 1967, it was demolished and a new building was erected, which is still in operation today.

The Inno is now part of Kaufhof ( Hudson's Bay Company ). All 15 Belgian branches were renamed “Galeria Inno” (see “Galeria Kaufhof”).

Department store fire

The Inno burned down completely on May 22, 1967 during a special exhibition showcasing American consumer goods . About 4,000 people were in the building at the time of the fire. Officially, 251 people died, including 67 department store employees. The fire brigade reported 323 deaths after initially talking about 450 victims. There were no sprinkler systems or effective fire-fighting equipment in the building and only some of the emergency exits were usable. The building had a large atrium in the middle with an opening to the open sky, which acted like a kind of chimney during the fire and helped the fire to spread. A gas leak is now assumed to be the cause of the fire; at that time was due to the anti-American sentiment at the height of the Vietnam War also arson considered.

The fire was heaviest misfortune of Belgium since the mining disaster of Bois du Cazier of 8 August 1956, which 262 deaths had demanded.

Reception in Germany

After the Bild-Zeitung first suspected opponents of the Vietnam War as arsonists, the department store fire was discussed in several leaflets of the Berlin Commune 1 in a drastic way. In the leaflet # 7 with the title "Why are you burning, consumer?", The department store fire was satirically interpreted as an ingenious US-American advertising measure:

"For the first time in a major European city, a burning department store with people on fire conveyed that sizzling Vietnam feeling (to be there and burn with it) that we have so far had to miss in Berlin."

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Belgian radio: Major Inno fire in Brussels claims over 250 lives
  2. ↑ Leaflets of the municipality I on the Brussels department store fire
  3. ↑ historicum.net: "Why are you burning, consumer?" - Leaflet No. 7 of Commune 1 (May 24, 1967)

Coordinates: 50 ° 51 '10.6 "  N , 4 ° 21' 25.9"  E