Nederlands Kremlin (Kremlin of the Netherlands) Ger Leegwater (b. 1945)

Used with permission of the photographer, Inky van Swelm

Status

Extant

Address

51 Limmerschouw, Winkel, Noord-Holland

Built

Begun 1990

Visiting Information

The site can be visited when its owner is present and has put the “open” sign at the entrance gate.

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About the Artist/Site

Beginning in 1990, former sheet metal worker Ger Leegwater began constructing a complex out of recycled materials in the large yard behind his home, located on the outskirts of Winkel, in northern Holland.

Leegwater's central construction measures 45 feet wide, 52 feet long, and 33 feet high, and is flanked by a number of smaller works, including corridors, arches, walls, and a chapel-like structure. Resembling a castle, with walls, gates, and towers crowned with metal spheres like those common to Russian Orthodox architecture, the complex is known today as the “Kremlin of the Netherlands.”

Using sheet iron as his basic material, Leegwater has also made life-sized sculptures, including a depiction of Saint George and the dragon, and statues of the archangel Michael and of the Greek god Orpheus. He is inspired by classical architecture and mythology and he enjoys entertaining visitors with his knowledge of classical history.

The site can be visited when its owner is present and has put the “open” sign at the entrance gate.

~Henk van Es