'Arc Majeur' by Bernard Venet – Rochefort, Belgium - Atlas Obscura

'Arc Majeur' by Bernard Venet

Rochefort, Belgium

This work of art, which took 35 years to complete, has a motorway running through it. 

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Drivers on the A4 motorway between Brussels (Belgium) and Luxembourg (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) are surprised to see a metal arc emerging on either side of the motorway. It is the Arc Majeur by Bernard Venet. It is in the form of an enormous metal circle, 75 metres in diameter, forming an angle of 205.5°. Part of it seems to be hidden underground. The two arches have a total weight of 200 tonnes, with the north-eastern arch reaching a height of 60 metres.

The chaotic history of this work of art began in 1984, when Jack Lang - the French Minister of Culture - asked Bernard Venet to create a work of art to be placed next to a motorway. The original plan was to install it on the A6 at the Porte de Bourgogne (Burgundy Gate), between Auxerre and Avallon. However, the project was blocked by a local politician. In the mid-2000s, the french motorway management company APRR relaunched the project, but with the demand that the work be painted red. The artist refused to do so and the project was once again abandoned. A third attempt in the Moselle region was also unsuccessful.

In 2014, during the inauguration of two of the artist’s works at John Cockerill’s head office, the company’s director, Bernard Serin, had a meeting with the artist. During this event, the two men made a commitment to the realisation of the project once and for all. The John Cockerill Foundation, which manages the company’s sponsorship, paid €2,500,000 for the work before donating it to the Walloon Region (which manages the motorway). On 23 October 2019, 35 years after the start of the project, the work was inaugurated.

Know Before You Go

The work is located at the 99 km marker on the A4 motorway.


As it's on the motorway, you can only drive through it (you can't stop or walk to it).