One of my favourite museums in Germany is the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, and it’s also a perfect destination for a sunny summer day, as it comes with an outdoor art trail set along a woodland/ riverside walk in the adjacent Neanderthal (Neander Valley).
The “Human Traces” trail includes sculptures by eleven different artists, which seek to both show and the relationship between humans and nature. Most of the art works are easily spotted, whilst others need a bit of detection work – such as Antony Gormley’s piece “Being”, which rests in the river Düssel and is missed by many visitors, especially when the water levels are high or the water isn’t very clear.
Memoria Mundi, by Anne & Patrick Poirier
Calx, by Klaus Simon
The Man Who Never Ceased to Grow, by Zadok Ben-David
The art trail is open to the public and free of charge. It can be visited any time. You can find out more about the project, artists and the sculptures (the latter in German only) on the Neanderthal Museum’s website.
Seele, by Jaume Plensa
Being, by Antony Gormley
July 26, 2013 at 2:34 pm
Thanks for the nice article. A little correction: The city’s name is Mettmann with a second n at the end.
July 31, 2013 at 10:17 am
Oops, sorry! Thanks for taking the time to let me know :)