The Green Cathedral, Tree sculpture in Almere Hout, Netherlands.
The Green Cathedral is a land art installation made from Italian black poplar trees planted in the shape of a Gothic cathedral on a raised mound in Almere Hout, Netherlands. Stone pathways run between the rows of trees and trace the floor plan of the structure, making the layout easy to read as you walk through it.
Artist Marinus Boezem planted the trees in 1987 on land that had only recently been reclaimed from the sea in Southern Flevoland. The idea of translating the form of a northern European Gothic cathedral into living trees was central to his approach from the start.
The Green Cathedral is used for weddings, funerals, and religious gatherings, giving it a quiet weight that you can sense when walking through it. The rows of tall, narrow trees form something close to a nave, and visitors often slow down naturally as they move along the stone paths.
The work is in Almere Hout and is open all year round with no entrance requirements. The stone paths are easy to walk on, but since the installation sits on a raised mound, wearing sturdy shoes is a good idea, especially after rain.
Next to the poplar installation, a grove of beech trees has been planted in the same shape, intended to take over as the poplars age and die. This means the work is designed to outlive its original trees by slowly passing its form to a new generation of forest.
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