Museum Insel Hombroich
Museum Insel Hombroich, established in 1987 by Karl-Heinrich Müller (1936-2007), is a beautiful ensemble of landscape, architecture and art, roughly 45mins drive from Cologne.
It began earlier, in 1816, when a park was established on a piece of land with ancient tree and plant stocks surrounded by the waters of the Erft river, the actual "Hombroich Island".
Landscape gardener Bernhard Korte reworked the overgrown park and neighboring land, striking a balance between untouched nature and nurturing intervention to create today's extraordinary outdoor environment.
Sculptor Erwin Heerich designed ten "walk-in sculptures" for the site - structures to house the art collection of founder and patron Karl-Heinrich Müller.
Painter Gotthard Graubner developed the overall exhibition concept, a form of presentation in which art and cultural objects from two millennia engage in a dialogue. In addition to East Asian art and a storehouse of archeological artifacts, the core art collection is built on the works of Jean Fautrier, Lovis Corinth, Hans Arp, Kurt Schwitters, Alexander Calder and Yves Klein, as well as Anatol Herzfeld, Erwin Herrich, Gotthard Graubner and others.
In establishing and endowing Museum Insel Hombroich Karl-Heinrich Müller created a situation echoing Paul Cézanne's idea of showing "art parallel to nature". Since 1997 the Insel Hombroich Foundation has comprised Museum Insel Hombroich, the Raketenstation Hombroich and the Kirkeby-Feld.
The nature conservation area Museum Insel Hombroich provides, is a protected habitat for a wide range of animal and plant life; footpaths have been purposely left free of information plaques and sign postings.
The museum relies on visitors to treat this unique ensemble of art and nature with respect.
