The accidental death of King Albert I in 1934 aroused great emotion in Belgium, prompting many cities to pay homage to him.

[3] The first project by the sculptor Alfred Courtens in the form of a 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) model was submitted in 1943, then revised and finally approved in 1946.

[3] The imposing bronze equestrian statue is placed high on the pedestal made of blue stone blocks, overlooking the city centre.

The style is reminiscent of that of the equestrian statue of Leopold II on the Place du Trône/Troonplein, whose author, Thomas Vinçotte, was Courtens's teacher.

[3] The monument is part of an overall project including the Mont des Arts and the Royal Library of Belgium, dedicated to Albert I and nicknamed Albertine in French or Albertina in Dutch (today KBR), whose first stone would not be laid, however, until three years after the statue's inauguration.