Post by Jaga on Aug 25, 2007 18:59:16 GMT -7
Since we were talking about european sculptures, here is something to see on your next trip to Baltics:
Grûtas Park
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C5%ABtas_Park
Grûtas Park is a sculpture garden of Soviet-era statues and an exposition of other ideological relics, founded by the Lithuanian entrepreneur (and former wrestler) Viliumas Malinauskas, near Druskininkai, about 130 km southeast of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is unofficially called Stalin's World or Stalin World (by way of reference to theme parks such as Walt Disney World and SeaWorld).
After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, these statues were all taken down and dumped in different places. Later Malinauskas requested the Lithuanian authorities to grant him possession of the sculptures, so that he could build a privately-financed museum.
This Soviet theme park was created in the wetlands of Dzûkija National Park. Many of its features are re-creations of Soviet Gulag prison camps: wooden paths, guard towers and fences. The park is rich in irony and is intended to amuse as much as to inform, but it awakens many painful memories; its establishment faced some fierce opposition, and its existence is still controversial.
www.grutoparkas.lt/ekspozicija-en.htm
Grûtas Park
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C5%ABtas_Park
Grûtas Park is a sculpture garden of Soviet-era statues and an exposition of other ideological relics, founded by the Lithuanian entrepreneur (and former wrestler) Viliumas Malinauskas, near Druskininkai, about 130 km southeast of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is unofficially called Stalin's World or Stalin World (by way of reference to theme parks such as Walt Disney World and SeaWorld).
After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, these statues were all taken down and dumped in different places. Later Malinauskas requested the Lithuanian authorities to grant him possession of the sculptures, so that he could build a privately-financed museum.
This Soviet theme park was created in the wetlands of Dzûkija National Park. Many of its features are re-creations of Soviet Gulag prison camps: wooden paths, guard towers and fences. The park is rich in irony and is intended to amuse as much as to inform, but it awakens many painful memories; its establishment faced some fierce opposition, and its existence is still controversial.
www.grutoparkas.lt/ekspozicija-en.htm