Residents of Heysel woke Monday to find that the Atomium, Brussels’ landmark 1958 spherical structure and perennial loss leader of the city’s tourism portfolio, had, at some point between 2 and 4 a.m., acquired a forty-metre golden-brown waffle draped across its central sphere.
The waffle, made of fibreglass and lacquered to a convincing Liège-style finish, was lowered into place by a mobile crane operated, according to witnesses, by four men in matching yellow aprons who refused to speak to anyone and left before the police arrived.
A note pinned to the Atomium’s base, written in tidy handwriting on greaseproof paper, read simply: “For morale. Will remove when morale improves. L’Ordre de la Gauffre.”
“A clear act of joy, but also a clear act of trespass”
The City of Brussels has demanded the waffle’s immediate removal. Mayor Philippe Close, holding an impromptu press conference at the base of the structure, described the installation as “both a clear act of joy and a clear act of trespass, which is a combination we in Brussels are familiar with.”
“We are not against morale,” the mayor said. “We are against unscheduled morale. There is a permitting process. There is a formulaire. There is, specifically, a formulaire for oversized baked goods on federal monuments, and it has not been filled in.”
Engineers from Belgotex, the firm that maintains the Atomium, confirmed the waffle is structurally sound and poses no immediate risk to visitors, though they expressed concern about its long-term aerodynamic profile in high winds. “In a strong gust, that thing becomes a 40-metre frisbee,” one said.
The Order of the Gauffre: who are they?
L’Ordre de la Gauffre is not, according to Belgian registry records, an officially recognised organisation. A web search returns only a single Pinterest board, a defunct Facebook page with 14 followers, and a 2009 forum post asking, “Does anyone know if there is a waffle guild?”
A man who answered a phone number left on the note identified himself only as “Baudoin, Grand Maître of the Gauffre,” and said the Order had been founded in 1426 “or possibly last March” and had chapters in Dunkirk, Kortrijk and one in Toronto that he was “not at liberty to discuss.”
Asked what would have to happen for morale to be considered sufficiently improved, Baudoin replied, “The trains would run on time. Or, failing that, anyone at the SNCB would admit the trains do not run on time. We are not asking for the impossible. We are asking for honesty and a waffle.”
The waffle remained in place as of press time. The City has given the Order until Friday to remove it. Baudoin has given the City until “morale improves” to remove itself.