In the countryside, the perception of monuments is different. If a monument lies on a hill, stands on a cliff, at the end of a lake or in the middle of a sheep pasture, the opposite often happens. One does not walk by, but is literally drawn to these memorial posts. Even from a distance, they seem like a special place not to be missed.
Monument with attraction
Of course, we walk to the top of Logh Shiel to see the monument honoring Bonnie Prince Charly up close. No matter, even though we’ve already walked 18 kilometers through the scorching heat of an atypical Scottish summer day. The place where the last hope of the Scottish clans for a king from the House of Stewart on the throne of England, called the rebellion, we can not leave left.
The sea god Manannan Mac Lir spreads his arms and we interrupt the ride, even though it is cold and windy. Gortmore is a stunning viewpoint on the Bishop’s Road in Northern Ireland and is part of the Causeway Coastal Route. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Donegal and the islands of Islay and Jura on the west coast of Scotland. How fortunate that the sea god put a stop to us!
No trip without a monument! For International Monument Day on April 18, we’re taking a foray into the diversity of monuments. Whether you encounter them in the city or in the countryside, what all the world’s monuments have in common is their contribution to education. Without them, we would all return from a trip a little dumber.
We encounter monuments everywhere – when travelling, in the city, in the country, in museums. But what makes a monument? Who decides what we remember? No journey without a monument opens up a journey through the diversity of what people put on pedestals. In the city, the monuments crowd together: Monument and city shows how you can walk past a monument in Bamberg – and still become wiser. In the countryside, on the other hand, a single monument draws you in from afar: Monument in the countryside tells of the quiet magic of such places. Nature and Monument asks what happens when nature reclaims the monument. Where art and monument merge, the path leads to Kassel: Monument and art looks at the documenta city. And who is a monument themselves? Everyone is a monument – so claims a red sandstone pedestal in Kassel, on which “ICH” is written in large letters. Finally, Paris is rethinking the monument: whoever restores a forgotten, listed grave in Père Lachaise is then allowed to lie beneath it – Monument Seeks Heirs tells of a lottery procedure that combines monument protection and eternity.
