In the province of Hainaut, the village of Ellezelles adopts detective Hercule Poirot

Who has never watched an episode of Hercule Poirot? Snob, maniac, always impeccably dressed, wearing spats, showing off an improbable slicked moustache, yet so endearing, the character of novelist Agatha Christie was featured in several films as well as a TV series. He has become a national Belgian monument whose inquiries, resolved with panache, mainly take place in London.

Hercule Poirot adopted by the village of Ellezelles

At the centre of the Parc Naturel du Pays des Collines, the post card city hall of the Ellezelles village comprises museums, a nice classified real estate patrimony and a hero. It is stipulated, on his civil register that this world reknown character was born here, on the 1st of April, 1850. David Suchet, the British actor who incarnated this mythical dandy of the 20s, even came here for an official visit.

In front of the City Hall, the statue of Hercule Poirot immortalizes his iconic character. © Pascal Hyde

More real than nature, the official birth certificate of Hercule Jacques Poirot is listed in the civil register of Ellezelles. © Pascal Hyde

An atypical Belgian detective 

The detective, who helped inspectors of Scotland Yard resolve affairs, thanks to the logic of his small grey cells, has left statues and a birth certificate The son of Godelièvre Van Prei, a patronym meaning Leek in Flemish, becomes a ghost on the 1st of April, and a beer has been named after him. Far from the small joke, Hercule Poirot is now part of the cultural domain of Belgium.

Very meticulous of his appearence in all circumstances, Hercule Poirot is an example of classic elegance. © DR