Victor's Way

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Victor's Way
Statue of Ganesha at Victoria's Way.jpg
Ganesha statue in Victor's Way, with Sugar Loaf mountain in background.
Victor's Way
TypeSculpture and philosophy park [1]
Locationnear Roundwood, County Wicklow, Ireland
Coordinates 53°05′09″N6°13′11″W / 53.0857°N 6.2197°W / 53.0857; -6.2197
Area9 hectares
Owned byVictor Langheld
StatusOpen during summer months [2]
CollectionsStatues
Website www.victorsway.eu

Victor's Way (previously Victoria's Way), located near Roundwood, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a privately owned meditation garden which contains black granite sculptures. [1] The 9-hectare property includes a number of small lakes and forested areas.

Contents

The park

The park, which has been known both as Victor's Way and Victoria's Way, [3] closed in 2015, with the owner stating that "Too may day-trippers came turned it into a fun park for parents with children. It was designed as a contemplative garden for over 28's".[ citation needed ] The owner re-opened the garden, under its original name of Victor's Way, in April 2016, with new age restrictions and higher entrance fee.[ citation needed ]

The park is open to the public during the summer months. [2] A plaque by the entrance says the park is dedicated to cryptographer Alan Turing.[ citation needed ]

Ownership

The park is owned and maintained by Victor Langheld, who was born in 1940 in Berlin and has lived with a number of different religious orders in India.[ citation needed ] He has also travelled in Thailand, Japan, and Sri Lanka. [4] Family inheritance allowed Langheld to spend most of his adult life travelling to spiritual sites in Asia, before travelling to Ireland and sponsoring the construction of the sculpture park.[ citation needed ]

Langheld designed most of the sculptures, [5] and continues to curate the park and welcome visitors.[ citation needed ]

Sculptures

Most of the park's statues are made of black granite and range in height from 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) to 16 feet (4.9 m). [6] The first structure by the entrance is a sculpted tunnel based on the idea of vagina dentata.[ citation needed ] The first statue added to the park was the fasting Buddha. [7]

Eight statues are dedicated to Ganesha, showing the elephant god dancing, reading, and playing musical instruments. [8] All the Ganesha sculptures were made in Tamil Nadu, India, and each took five craftsmen a year to make. [5]

A number of the sculptures include small motifs of modernity,[ citation needed ] such as a small pint of Guinness beside a Ganesha.[ citation needed ] One of the bronzes is a "copy" of a Gandhara-era sculpture. [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Victor's way Indian sculpture park Roundwood Co. Wicklow Ireland by Martin Varghese/IvisionIreland". youtube.com. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Victor's Way Opening Times & Access". victorsway.eu. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  3. "Victoria's Way - Originally Victor's Way (1:58s)". youtube. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2016.[ better source needed ]
  4. "Victor, of Victoria's Way". Archived from the original on 24 January 2010 via homepage.eircom.net.
  5. 1 2 "David Kenny's Erindipity". tribune.ie. 10 August 2008.[ dead link ]
  6. "Victoria's Way, Spiritual Sculpture Park". Archived from the original on 21 September 2008 via homepage.eircom.net.
  7. "Victoria's Way - First Statue (2:33s)". youtube. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  8. "The Irish Ganesh Exhibition, @ Victoria's Way, Roundwood, Co Wicklow". victoriasway.eu. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  9. "Wicklow Daily Photo: Indian Sculpture Park VI". wicklowdailyphoto.blogspot.com. 16 August 2010.[ better source needed ]