Red deer in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherland
Imagine 55 square kilometers of open nature, with wildlife on the move and a deer proudly displaying its crown of antlers. In 1909, the husband-and-wife team Anton Kröller and Helene Kröller-Müller began creating a private estate in Gelderland, the Netherlands. His dream was to unite art and nature. Thus was born the De Hoge Veluwe National Park, where sculptures and landscapes merge in perfect harmony. Among his works are "Three Upright Motives" by the British Henry Moore and the stone bench "President Steyn" by the Belgian architect Henry van de Velde.
Today, the park's forests, dunes, and heaths are home to wild boars, roe deer, mouflons, wolves, and numerous birds. But red deer are the real protagonists: males can weigh more than 200 kilos and reach up to 1.30 meters in height at the shoulder. During the rut, they raise their antlers and bellow to mark their territory.
Its landscapes are reminiscent of Spanish natural parks where art and nature are also integrated, such as the Montenmedio Contemporary Foundation in Andalusia (Montenmedio Arte Contemporáneo) or the Can Ginebreda Forest in Catalonia, where the sculptures dialogue with the environment. To visit De Hoge Veluwe is to discover how art and wildlife coexist in complete freedom.
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