Peter van Coudenberghe

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This statue, representing Peter van Coudenberghe, was crafted in 1861 to pay tribute by the Royal Pharmacy Association of Antwerp. A marker on the statue reveals that it was refurbished in 1996 through a collaboration between the Cornelis Florgis foundation and A.C. Mamur's backing. The Van Coudenberghes were among seven noble families entrusted with aldermen roles in Brussels' city government during medieval times. As power shifted from the nobility to craftsmen, however, they managed to maintain their influence by forming alliances with various crafts. By partnering with pewter casters, for instance, they secured a spot on the city council election ballot time and again. Peter van Coudenberghe was born on May 16th, 1517, in Brussels as the eldest of fourteen siblings. Eventually settling in Antwerp later in life, he pursued a career in pharmacy, where he found fertile ground due to the port city's constant influx of herbs and spices from the Far East, Africa, and the Americas, ideal for concocting remedies and medicines. He forged close bonds with renowned botanists of his time, eventually producing books on plant and herbology. However, the Spanish siege of Antwerp later in the 16th century ravaged all crops surrounding the city and destroyed Peter's precious garden harvests, wiping out his life's work as a botanist-pharmacist. Peter van Coudenberghe met his demise around 1599, but the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unknown.