Glaselefant, Walk-in glass elephant sculpture in Hamm, Germany

The Glaselefant is a walk-in sculpture in Hamm, created by artist and architect Horst Rellecke from the former coal-washing building of the Maximilian colliery. About 35 metres tall, its glass trunk houses a lift to the palm garden in the head, where ten kinetic objects by Rellecke are displayed; a staircase at the rear leads down. At 29 metres, visitors can enjoy a panorama of Maximilian Park, the city and the surrounding area.

The Glaselefant is not a new building: it is the former coal-washing plant of the Maximilian colliery, which Horst Rellecke converted into a walk-in sculpture for the 1984 Regional Garden Show in Hamm. The conversion turned the disused industrial structure into the centrepiece of today's Maximilian Park.

The name Glaselefant refers to the glass-clad elephant shape of the former coal-washing building. Since 2009 the structure has been lit by LED lights that regularly cycle through white, blue, green, yellow and red. During the Herbstleuchten light show in the North Rhine-Westphalia autumn holidays, the lights switch on and off and change colour to the rhythm of accompanying music. Small plastic elephant sculptures are distributed across Hamm, and a flower-planted elephant stands in the Kurpark.

The lift to the palm garden runs inside the elephant's glass trunk, while a staircase at the rear leads down from the upper level. At 29 metres the panorama takes in Maximilian Park, the city of Hamm and the surrounding countryside.

The observation platform provides views across Maximilian Park and central Hamm through windows positioned within the elephant's transparent head structure.