Vacation Pictures - The Old Botanical Garden

Back in 1813, the King of Bavaria commissioned an architect to build a botanical garden under a huge steel and glass greenhouse similar to the Crystal Palace in London. In 1931 the greenhouse burned to the ground, but the garden was rebuilt. The original gate pavilions (being made of stone) and the central statuary group are still present, and the gardens were a nice place to relax and rest my feet for a while.

Here's the central statuary group as seen from the eastern entrance. The entire park is bordered by trees and bushes that help screen out traffic noises.

The central statuary group is a statue of Hercules, surrounded by a small reflecting pool.

At the north end of the gardens stands a Kunstpavilion, or Art Pavilion. It was showcasing a collection by local artists at the time, and the admission cost was only 2 Euro (about $2.60).

It's a bit difficult to see, but the neon sign over the doorway reads "Kunst Ist Kein Luxus" (Art is not a Luxury). And whoever put that sign up is quite right - art is necessary to uplift and add beauty to our lives.

Soccer art was the theme of the exhibit, and these two photographs (with accompanying commentary on the right) explored the fascination people have with association football and its connections with religion. If you've ever watched the World Cup or the UEFA Champions league matches, you'll understand why. Hell, if you live in the Deep South in the US, you'll know what I'm talking about.

This abstract is titled "Meinschaft" (Team). Pretty self-explanatory.

The sculpture is titled "Goalkeeper," and it interested me because of its almost medieval rendering. The features of the players are very stylized and crowded together in the group, making it look almost like a cathedral relief.