Timm ULRICHS, Versunkenes Dorf (2006). Munich (Germany)

© herve bechy

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The work of Timm Ulrichs "Versunkenes Dorf" (The village buried) is an exact replica, in scale and size, of the medieval Heilig-Kreuz church and its nearby village.
Timm Ulrichs' church is partly buried. The artist expresses what might have happened to the Heilig-Kreuz church in the surrounding landfill. This old medieval village with its current farm is in decline, and its ancient church dating back to 815 a.d. had almost disappeared. It was restored in 1980 because murals were discovered dating from the time of its construction.
This part of Munich has undergone significant transformation and has been used for decades for landfill. It is now covered by vegetation.
This project highlights and stigmatizes the changes in the north of Munich, especially since the 1950's in the area of Fröttmaning, where the Allianz Arena (the football stadium) by architects Herzog & de Meuron has become the major tourist attraction.
This situation is the result of an evolution, not only because of technological advances, such as the development of the system of transport and communications, but the tendancy to discredit the past in contemporary society.

Dimensions: 16,70 m x 9,00 m x 18,40 m

The title of the work is taken from a poem by Friedrich Rückert dating from 1813