Belfast Titanic Memorial Garden

The ill-fated RMS Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Alongside the City Hall today you’ll find a small memorial garden that opened on the 100-year anniversary of the tragedy, a century after the ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912.

At the center of the garden is a striking statue. It depicts a female, representing death or fate, holding a wreath over the head of a drowned sailor who is raised above the sea by two mermaids. The original marble sculpture was designed by the English sculptor Sir Thomas Brock, but the unveiling was delayed by World War I until June of 1920.

In honor of the 22 local men who died in the Titanic disaster, the sculpture is 22 feet high (including the plinth), and features small water fountains, gargoyle-type creatures, and inscriptions on all sides. The local victims are listed by rank, starting with Thomas Andrews, the ship’s architect and the managing director of Harland and Wolff.

Originally, the memorial was located in the middle of the road nearby, but after multiple accidents it was moved in 1959. In 1994 it underwent a restoration, and it was repaired again just before the centenary. The flower-filled memorial garden saw the addition of five bronze plaques naming all 1,512 victims on a plinth some 30 feet wide. It is the first of the many Titanic memorials around the world to record all the victims on one monument.