Thaindian News

November 11, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): The city of Nijmegen located in the eastern part of Netherlands has decided to remove ten statues made of bronze from its street corners. The reason stated for such an action is security concerns.

A number of bronze statues have been stolen from the city in recent times. Three statues made of the well known alloy along with another one most probably mistaken for bronze have been missing from the city since April, this year. None of them could be recovered and the authorities feel that the statues must have been melted down. The alloy Bronze is pretty expensive and the statues should be able to fetch a good price at the market even after being melted down.

One of the more well known statues to have been removed for reasons of security is the ‘Mariken van Nieumeghen’ also known as Mariken from Nijmegen. The character cast in bronze is a character from an inordinately old book of Netherlands that had been written in 1500. The old looks had been very much evident in the statue often praised for its skillful depiction. Nijmegen is particularly famous for its artwork and more than 60 pieces of art had been displayed at strategic positions in public places until the thieves begun to eye them.

The city authorities now have plans to safeguard the national treasures by means of a GPS chip implanted in them. Another alternative is to re cast them in materials, cheaper than bronze.