Picturesque and thought-provoking, art and the natural landscape combine beautifully at these city, coastal and countryside parks
Arenike Adebajo
Mon 5 Sep 2016 06.30 BST Last modified on Thu 22 Feb 2018 15.54 GMT
The Austrian Sculpture Park sits in a seven-hectare park designed by renowned Swiss architect Dieter Kienast, on the outskirts of Graz. It’s home to more than 60 sculptures by Austrian and international artists such as Fritz Wotruba, Franz West and Yoko Ono. Lotus ponds, landscaped lawns and a lush forest form a background to the contemporary sculptures. Some pieces look like toys dropped from a giant’s pram: a huge pink ball, a concrete boat, aeroplane parts. Bookings for guided tours and workshops can be made on the website. Free, . Open daily March-October, 10am-8pm
Best known for its Van Gogh collection, the Kröller-Müller Museum is in the near Arnhem. Its sculpture garden is one of the largest in Europe, with more than 160 sculptures in 25 hectares of landscaped hills and valleys. The collection includes work from the 19th century to the present, from artists including Barbara Hepworth, Aristide Maillol, Jean Dubuffet and Marta Pan. Two restored pavilions, by Gerrit Rietveld and Aldo van Eyck, house some of the collection. Admission to Hoge Veluwe national park, adult €9.15, child €4.60, museum entry adult €18.30, 6-12 years €9.15, . Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-4.30pm
Vigeland Park is the world’s largest sculpture park dedicated to the work of a single artist – prominent Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, who headed the design and architectural layout of the park himself. It was completed between 1939 and 1949, with around 200 sculptures, mostly human figures in granite, bronze and wrought iron. These are grouped in five themed sections along an 850-metre axis. , a large sculpture of a furious toddler mid-tantrum, is the park’s best-known attraction. There’s a cafe and a museum within the park, where the original plaster cast models for the statues are displayed. Adult £5,40, concessions £2.70, . Open Tues-Sun noon-4pm (10am-5pm in summer)
On the North Zealand coast, 25 miles north of Copenhagen, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art has landscaped lawns and stunning views of Øresund Sound. Founded in 1958, it was intended to be a hub for modern Danish art but branched out to include the work of well-known international artists. A semi-circle of buildings among the trees encloses the garden, with more than 60 sculptures. The Louisiana shop stocks a range of products representing the best of Scandinavian design. Adult £13, under-18s free, . Open Tue-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat-Sun 11am-6pm
A peat bog in Ireland’s Midlands may seem an unusual setting for a sculpture park but Lough Boora, which once supplied over a million tonnes of peat every year, is now a sanctuary for wildlife and home to 24 land sculptures, inspired by the area’s industrial heritage. Pick up a brochure at the visitor centre for details on the more iconic artworks before setting off on the two-mile sculpture trail, one of five themed routes around the park. Free, . Open year round
Established in 1950 as an exhibition, Middelheim became a permanent fixture and is now one of the world’s largest outdoor sculpture collections – and still growing. More than 250 works are to be found around the 30-hectare grounds, from Rodin to present-day artists, including Turner prize winner Richard Deacon – who has 10 works on display this summer (until 24 September). It’s a beautiful place to wander; or if you’re visiting at the right time, join one of the free monthly guided tours. Free, . Open daily, from 10am, all year round
In a beautiful valley near St Tropez, this new trail traces a route via 40 works of art. It was opened in 2015 by Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand – nephew of the former French president and a gallery owner in Paris’s Marais district for more than 30 years – and is one of several sculpture parks in the area, including , and . The park is currently open until mid October and admission is free, though potential visitors prior to their trip.
A giant white marble head stands atop a rocky plateau. With its eyes closed it looks particularly serene and who wouldn’t be in the ancient, rugged landscape of Tjörn island, an hour north of Gothenburg. Contemporary works by international artists punctuate the stone circles and grazing sheep. This is not a manicured park with trails to stick to – some works involve a bit of a climb, so bring sturdy boots. Adults £7, . Open daily, 9am-7pm, June to September
Established by the British , who bought the villa and land in 2006, this park features three dozen sculptures set among its leafy grounds. Concerts and lectures are also held regularly at the park. are run every Saturday at 3pm and cost an additional €4 on top of the admission price. The park is 40 minutes north of Cologne, which has its own sculpture park: . Adults €10, students €6, . Open March to October from 10am-7pm, and November to February 10am-5pm
In a magical woodland setting, the Chianti Sculpture Park has a thought-provoking collection of work that bridges the gap between art and nature, organic forms and manmade objects. Founded in 2004 and covering 17 acres of land rich with oak and ilex trees, the park features works such as Jeff Saward’s The Labyrinth, a spiralling green-glass maze, and Benbow Bullock’s towering stainless steel columns Homage to Brancusi, both of which play with the dappled light of the forest. During summer concerts are held in the park’s amphitheatre, while the adjacent gallery, La Fornace, is home to an impressive collection of contemporary sculpture from around the world. Adults €10, children €5, . Open all year round but visitors are advised to call ahead of their visit between November to March
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information. Thomasine, Sweden
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as £1, you can support the Guardian – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
or to join the discussion.
I'd add Memento Park outside Budapest, a bus ride out of town where many (often massive) Soviet-era futurist sculptures ended up after the collapse of the Wall. Not only are the sculptures fantastic, filled with bravado and movement yet coldly ominous, but the architecture and thinking behind the Park is wonderful, landing these self-important works in the middle of nowhere, lost to passers-by.
I was going to say this! Yes, memento park I highly recommend too.
Visited Hoge Veluwe in 1975. A fantastic gem near Arnhem, esp the Van Gogh. I can honestly say the experience stuck with me, an impressionable 15 yr old at the time.
But don't disregard the Yorkshire sculpture park near Wakefield if your not travelling to Europe. It's fantastic, with lots of Hepworth and Moor, and a great gallery of touring works.
It trumps a couple of these!
Thought we were part of Europe. Typical English
Sheesh! That's the point - we are, so it's a shame to not see one of our own great sculpture parks in the list.
If you want to be a pedant, then please read as 'not travelling to mainland Europe'. or indeed, just 'not travelling'. Though i would imagine a great number of Guardianistas would baulk at the idea of heading to Yorkshire, or anywhere north of London for cultural entertainment, over racking up air miles then then bemoaning why we don't do things like this in the UK.....
Make a weekend of it, Take in the YSP & the Hepworth (6 miles apart), stay in Sheffield for the winter gardens & galleries, amazing pubs & theatres (not to mention a good walk in the Peak district) , or visit Leeds for the Royal Armouries, Thackray Museum, Kirkstall Abbey, food and shopping. Go to York and be amazed by the preservation of the city, Whitby and soak up the history along with scenery, Bradford for the National Media Museum, take the kids to the Deep, Eureka or Magna or a day out in Scarborough.
Cultural experiences aren't limited to a choice of London or International, despite the way our media presents it. We are really, really good at this stuff, all over the UK. I love travelling, and spend a lot of my time in mainland Europe for work, but it breaks my spirit to not to see the real depth and quality of what we have being shouted about.
Is Yorkshire Sculpture Park not good enough to be included, or is this list deliberately parks outside of the UK? I'd like to go to all of these, but ysp is handier to get to.
Jupiter Artland near Edinburgh is great - won museum of the year 2016. Kids love it too.
That's not enough sculpture parks. Ed.
I would add Broomfield Sculpture Gardens in North Devon. Went there last week and was spectacular.
More">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_Sculpture_Park">Wikipedia)More .The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is an open-air gallery in West Bretton near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, showing work by British and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.( )
Wrong link =>
Great works is a beautiful setting
It's Legoland for me every time
I would also add the Budapest memento Park or indeed anything else to suggest that Europe might not just mean Western Europe, extraordinary list to simply ignore all of central and Eastern Europe.
Not really a sculpture park, but the province of Flevoland in the Netherlands is home to 5 massive works of land art (officially 6, but the newest one being a massive statue only looking out over the water, I feel it's not land art, still amazing tho). It's the highest concentration of these kind of works in the world and they're massive in size. You can easily do them all in a day tho and the best thing is that almost nobody visits them. Amazing spaces to sit down, be overwhelmed and reflect on the world.
"sculptures by the lake" near Bovington, Dorset is beautiful and delightful. It is the outdoor gallery and home of artist Simon Gudgeon.
http://www.sculpturebythelakes.co.uk/
http://www.sculpturebythelakes.co.uk/
The Louisiana is wonderful, but not as a sculpture park!
The Vigeland park is free to enter. The cost given is for the museum
It's especially beautiful in winter on a clear day after a snowfall - magic.
Whilst we are still in Europe, surely the excellent Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Wakefield is worth a mention
This is a good one, too
http://www.sculpture.org.uk
This contemplative Indian sculpture park in County Wicklow, Ireland is definitely worth a look. If it is sunny, the elderly owner may be found stretched out on a bench, soaking up the sun. /
Interesting piece. Another to add to the list is the Asia Napa sculpture park. It may not be the biggest or with the most impressive pieces, but the setting and landscape on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea (which the pieces are designed to blend in with using natural stone materials) is frankly stunning.
Where's CASS Sussex?
maybe the author thinks we're not in europe anymore
In Sussex, apparently!
The Bomarzo Monster Gardens are wonderfully surreal as well. http://www.bomarzo.net/m/index.html
Trouble is they're probably filled with all modern bullshit as they don't have the same separation that galleries do.
Aren't we still in Europe? What about the Yorkshire Sculpture Park? It's wonderful and it's also free .
Many of the sculptures were placed their by Rodin himself.
(and you get the bonus of seeing a version of VG's in the house itself)
Not really : the current park -and its sculpture's placing- is a 90s creation. But it's true that Rodin himself placed sculptures (both his owns and antiques of his collection) in the hotel Biron park, which was really different as that it is nowadays.
I enjoyed your selection of sculpture parks, but would have liked to see the inclusion of parks in which nature and art truly interact with each other, for example the Rheinelbe Skulpturenwald in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, or Arte Sella in Italy. The Art in Nature movement helped create some of the most interesting sculpture parks and wasn't reflected in the selection. That being said, I appreciated the article and the discovery of several new parks.
or to recommend a comment