De Sjouwer

'De Sjouwer' is a monument in Aalbeke. It's located on a hill along the French border, along the E17 Lille-Ghent highway. The monument itself is an impressive concrete tower - 35 meters high.

The monument was built by the Brussels architect/sculptor Jacques Moeschal, who also designed De Pijl, the civil engineering pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. 'De Sjouwer' was inaugurated on Thursday 3 October 1974.

The monument was built in honour of the West Flemish frontier workers or seasonal workers who crossed the border to work in France. In the period from 1930 to 1960, many Flemish people went to carry out heavy seasonal work in the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The largest top of the monument is also of symbolic value; it points to France.