What a place! It’s a bit of an enigma
in many ways. It took us forever to find a way in by car – there
are no signposts on the road leading there so we sped right past and
ended up on the other side of the hill, with an infuriating glimpse
of the tower just 50m away. When you finally take the right road, the
only place to park is in the car park for the sports centre, with a
10 minute walk up the steep hill. In hindsight we should have gone by train
(details below) as Bruno Weber Weg (the road inaugurated by the
municipalities of Spreitenbach and Dietikon in 2006) leads from
Dietikon Station to the site (a 30min walk or 5min bus ride)
Swiss artist Bruno Weber (1931–2011)
was born in Dietikon. In 1947, he completed college in Zürich, began
training as a lithographer with Orell Fuessli (Zürich) and then
studied in Italy, Greece and Czechoslovakia before returning to his
beloved Switzerland. He discovered his passion for sculpture after
thirty years of painting. He then extended his sculpture garden
(Bruno Weber Park) where his house, comprising a 25ft tower, is
situated. Bruno also created the sculptural decorations on the
Uetliberg mountain, including the street lamps leading to the top of
Zürich plateau (Uto Kulm) and park benches, that you can enjoy now.
Bruno Weber Park covers an area of 20,000 m2 and is decorated with dozens of columns, reliefs, heads and gargoyles. A 12 m high tower at the entrance area and the estate tower were also built, forming landmarks overlooking the Limmat Valley. The Wassergarten, which opened in May 2012, is embraced by two 100 m long winged dogs (Flügelhund) forming an exciting footbridge from which you can look down on the water garden. Two dragon figures (one male and one female) also mark the entrance into the 'magic forest'. The dragon motif runs through Weber's entire work – supposedly the balance between woman and man. The dragon gate is the prototype of the so-called Drachentor sculpture that represented Switzerland at the World Expo 1992 in Seville. And Bruno became hugely influenced by Antonio Gaudi after visiting Park Güell in Barcelona, which is evident throughout the park.
The Gaudi-esque features of Weber’s
back garden really are thrilling. There are unicorns, gargoyles,
winged dogs, giant snails, serpents with cats heads, a finger lion (!) there are
grockles and snufferwinks (what we called them anyway) and oodles of
weird and unworldly characters dotted around with a host of mosaics
thrown in. There is a pavilion with thousands of mosaic features,
suns, moons and figures, and inside Bruno talks about his treasured
work on film. I particularly loved his self-portrait and landscape
scenes, which were hung without fanfare, on the walls. We loved walking through this
weird and wonderful landscape and the girls were so excited when they
saw the pond full of frogspawn and a line of frogs organised along
the side looking right at them. (I think this is the first time I
have ever seen a frog swimming!)
But there were a few really infuriating
factors about this place – the ticket office is an unassuming, uninspired cabin on the left hand side, there is absolutely ‘no pik-niking’ allowed in the wooded area, despite some amazing sculptural picnic
tables. There are smaller dragon bridges which you can't go on
(although I admit they are probably a little hazardous for children) And
there was this whole area in front of the house fenced off so we
could only go halfway down the delightful little staircase at the
front. The incredible house is now out of bounds (Bruno’s wife,
Mariann Weber-Godo, still lives there) despite being open to the
public for many years. These few things were particularly galling -
especially after paying 45fr for a family ticket - the house is very
much an integral part of the site.
But, despite this, my adult's stuffy
viewpoint about value for money, we all had a ball – it's nice to
achieve that old fashioned sense of awe and wonder - and I am certain
this particular outing is one my daughters will never forget (and will
probably zanily colour their view of the world for some years to
come!) This outing is really pricey but it is
an ‘arty’ fun experience far unlike any other I have had in
Switzerland so far.
Travel info
- S12 from Zurich
From Dietikon Bahnhof the park can be reached by:
- Bus 325 (Weinberg stop) with a walk of 7 mins
- Bus No: 306 with a walk of 10-15mins
- By foot, following Bruno Weber Weg, in around 30-40 minutes.
Further info
The park has been blighted by lack of
finances through the years, which is evident in the groups of
un-positioned, unloved sculptures dotted around here and there. And
despite 20,000 visitors per year, the trustees announced its closure
in August 2014 due to financial troubles. But with support, and a
petition of over 15,000 signatures, it opened again eight months
later (April 2015) And if the finances begin to flow the trustees
have set out a longer term plan. By 2018 the infrastructure for the
preservation of the park to be provided and the renovation of paths
and squares will be carried out. By 2022 it is planned to open the
park for overnight visits, including artificial lighting, renovation
of buildings, pavilions and villa. By 2026 it is hoped that the park
will have been declared as a national monument.
And I think this definitely has huge potential as
a national monument. So please support it if you can!
www.brunoweberpark.ch
www.brunoweberpark.ch
I've been meaning to go here for awhile but never have. Now I'm inspired to check out it. What a great detailed post. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tanya, so glad my post has encouraged you to check this amazing place out. Do let me know what you think :)
DeleteHa, yes, the great thing for visitors (but not so good for its financial outlook, of course) about this is that it is not very well marketed so it's still wonderfully peaceful and has oodles of atmosphere. Go now, before the crowds arrive ;)
ReplyDelete