The Park of Middelheim, Antwerp's buzzing open-sky museum in Belgium

A former « House of Pleasures » for patricians and the rich merchants of Antwerp, the Park of Middleheim is well-known since the 14th century and this green space is one of only 3 survivors in the Kingdom of Belgium. Spanning 30 hectares, the Renaissance-style building, comprising a museum, is surrounded by more than 400 works created by artists from around the world.

All to the museum, in the Middleheim Park of Antwerp!

Classic or contemporary, they are scattered along the alleys, the thickets, the lawns and under the trees, forming an unusual panorama where art and nature merge in the same place. The sculptures are on show all year-round, which makes it a very buzzing regional cultural site.

Vic Gentils personified Mayor Lode Craeybeckx, while Misconceivable by Erwin Wurm is about to take a dive. © DR

The Three Figures Standing by Eugène Dodeigne prefigure the Dolmens and the sacred dimension. © DR

Geometrical and sober, the Pavilion of Columns, by Charles Vandenhove, occasionally is the setting for exhibits of other works… © DR

An outdoor cabinet of curiosities in Belgium

Since 50 years, this oudoors cabinet of curiosities is also the rendezvous of romantics. It even shelters an ornamental orchard with 1500 apple trees, conceived by landscape architect Michel Desvigne, as well as a horticultural garden. In Summer, locals from Antwerp gather here to sunbathe on the terrace of its restaurant Mika, while enjoying a recipe with an artistic inspiration…

To fully live Dialogue, the sculptures of Albert Szukalski, you need to slip under the bronze pleats covered in plaster. © DR

Double Green and White Progression, by Soto Jesus Rafael, was created in 1969, pegged to the tenth Biennale of the park. © DR