Situated to the south-west of Düsseldorf in the small town of Neuss, this is quite simply a Garden of Eden here on Earth. Forget the uninviting title – Germans are masters at finding off-putting names – and put this on your list of “must-visits” immediately.

The idea for the museum – based on an original idea by the French 19th century artist Paul Cézanne of showing art in parallel with nature – came from a Düsseldorf collector by the name of Karl-Heinrich Müller. In 1982 he came across Hombroich Island, an uncultivated park on the banks of the River Erft, and called in a Düsseldorf sculptor by the name of Erwin Heerich to help him turn it into a park containing an orangery, a wonderful empty glass building overlooking a section of the river called the Graubner pavilion which I, and other visitors used an echo chamber (!), and an art gallery.

In 1984 Müller bought up a larger area of land, and had it specially landscaped to contain classical and modern sculptures, a cafe and various other exhibition buildings. Here you can see works by Arp, Calder, Cézanne, Chillida, Corinth, Fautrier, Klein, Matisse, Picabia, Rembrandt, Schwitters, as well as classical Asian works.

The Düsseldorf painter, Gotthard Graubner, helped Müller develop a special exhibition concept, whereby the exhibits are not chronologically ordered but presented according to styles. Almost the best feature of the concept is the refusal to provide any accompanying explanations to the works of art. At first this might prove irritating, but after a short while I found it remarkably liberating as it threw me into a direct confrontation with the work of art without the interpretational crutches of a so-called expert.

By placing traditional Asian art alongside modern European works without any commentary, the exhibition makers have succeeded in creating an exhilarating atmosphere which allows visitors to react to the works intuitively rather than on intellectual theories. The site also contains at least one contemporary artists’ workshop, placed in the midst of the wood like something out of a fairy-tale.

The day I was there the autumn sun was beaming down on a glittering dew-drenched golden landscape, and I wandered around in a trance of joy at the sheer beauty of it all. I was assured by other visitors that it’s an unalloyed pleasure at any time of the year, even and especially when it’s covered in snow. There are plenty of benches along the way enabling you to rest and enjoy the view; and the central café – with outside tables and chairs when the weather’s fine – serves up food and drink free of charge. Allow yourself at least two and a half hours because it’s a large site. To prevent you getting lost, all visitors are provided with a map, showing the gravel paths. Sturdy shoes are recommended, children under the age of 6 have free admission, but dogs are banned.

To protect the landscape, visitors are asked to keep to the gravel paths and picnicking is not allowed. Be warned: after you leave the box office area, you will come to a staircase with no less than 45 steps, so whatever you do don’t bring a pram!

Address: Minkel 2, 41472 Neuss-Holzheim. Tel: (02182) 2094. www.inselhombroich.de
Open: Daily, April to the end of September: 10.00 - 19.00; October 10.00 - 18.00; November to March 10.00 - 17.00. In summer you can stay in the park till 21.00. Minkel 2, 41472 Neuss-Holzheim. Tel: (02182) 2094. www.inselhombroich.de

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