Men by the Sea — Attraction in Esbjerg Municipality

Wonderful peacefull place... You can take a walk to the beach... The parking is very close...

Credits by Vadehavskysten

"Visitors arriving in Esbjerg from the sea are greeted by Svend Wiig Hansen’s monumental sculpture "Man meets the Sea", which was raised on the occasion of Esbjerg celebrating its 100th anniversary as an independent municipality in 1994. It was officially unveiled on 28 October 1995.

The sculpture, made of white concrete, portrays the meeting between pure, unspoilt mankind and nature. Man, innocent as from his mother’s womb. Man before rising up and beginning to act. That, according to Wiig Hansen, was where things started to go wrong - when man got"dirt" on his hands. Wiig Hansen has portrayed this encounter by creating a universal sculpture that has the mood of a temple, of an acropolis - a sculpture with a sacred aura to it. This sacred aura is attained by the rigid appearance of the human figures, something which reminds the onlooker of the Memnon columns or Ramses II gazing out over the Nile Valley at Abu Simbel. It is also impossible for the onlooker not to be reminded of the mysterious stone figures on the Easter Islands.

The legs are like the columns of a Greek temple. The lower legs have been made so long precisely so as to achieve this columnlike effect. The upper legs are short in proportion. The identical heads, which with their inscrutable and unfathomable expressions gaze out towards Skallingen and the entrance to the harbour, also contribute greatly to the glimpse you get of the supernatural - a hint of the divine. The sculpture is not tied down to any one age. Its expressiveness, laden with atmosphere and emotion, makes it eternally valid.

That the number of figures sitting on the shore is precisely four is because Wiig Hansen found the number harmonious - more in accordance with the basic sculptural concept of "pure" mankind than, for example, three or five. Because of its size (it is nine metres tall) and charisma, the sculpture has become a landmark for Esbjerg. In clear weather the bodies, sitting there like unfurled sails, can be seen 10 kilometres away. Esbjerg has been enriched by a monumental sculpture of...

Skulptura „Men by the Sea“ nalazi se na adresi Sædding Strandvej 1 u Esbjergu u Danskoj i predstavlja jedan od najimpresivnijih i najprepoznatljivijih spomenika u celoj zemlji. Ova monumentalna umetnička instalacija sastoji se od četiri ogromne bele figure muškaraca koje sede okrenute prema moru, gledajući u pravcu horizonta. Svaka figura visoka je devet metara, što ih čini vidljivim sa velike udaljenosti, pa čak i sa mora. Postavljene su 1995. godine u čast stogodišnjice grada Esbjerga, a autor skulpture je danski umetnik Svend Wiig Hansen.

Simbolika skulpture često se povezuje sa idejom kontemplacije, tišine i večne povezanosti čoveka sa prirodom i morem. Posetioci često opisuju osećaj smirenosti i poštovanja koji obuzima svakog ko stane ispred ovih kolosalnih figura. Iako su izrađene od betona, njihova jednostavna forma i položaj daju im gotovo duhovnu dimenziju. Mesto je otvoreno za javnost tokom cele godine i besplatno je za posetu, a posebno je popularno među fotografima, putnicima i lokalnim stanovnicima koji ovde dolaze na zalazak sunca.

Skulptura se nalazi na peskovitoj plaži blizu Esbjerškog pomorskog muzeja, što omogućava savršen spoj umetnosti i morske istorije u jednoj poseti. U neposrednoj blizini je i Sædding centar, gde se može napraviti pauza uz kafu ili lagani ručak. Mnogi posetioci naglašavaju kako je osećaj prostora, vetra i svetlosti oko skulptura gotovo meditativan. Deca vole da se igraju oko ogromnih stopala figura, dok odrasli često provode vreme u tišini, gledajući u horizont i razmišljajući.

U turističkom smislu, „Men by the Sea“ je postao neizostavan deo svake posete Esbjergu i jedan od najfotografisanijih lokaliteta u zapadnoj Danskoj. Pristup skulpturama je jednostavan, sa parkingom u neposrednoj blizini, a dobro su povezane biciklističkim i pešačkim stazama. U letnjim mesecima često se organizuju kulturni događaji u okolini, uključujući umetničke performanse i radionice na otvorenom. Noću su skulpture osvetljene reflektorima, što stvara dodatno dramatičan utisak i privlači posetioce i nakon zalaska sunca.

Ljubitelji umetnosti često upoređuju ove figure sa drevnim kipovima Uskršnjeg ostrva, dok drugi vide u njima savremeni simbol severnog minimalizma. Skulptura je tokom godina postala zaštitni znak grada Esbjerga, a nalazi se i na mnogim razglednicama, suvenirima i promotivnim materijalima. U okolini se mogu posetiti i druge atrakcije kao što su Ribe VikingeCenter, najstariji grad u Danskoj Ribe, ili pak Fanø ostrvo koje je nadomak Esbjerga trajektom.

Men by the Sea nije samo turistička tačka već i prostor tišine i razmišljanja, mesto koje ostavlja snažan utisak i poziva na introspekciju. Bez obzira na godišnje doba, vremenske uslove ili doba dana, ove četiri figure nepomično stoje kao čuvari obale i svedoci prolaznosti vremena. Njihova belina nasuprot tamnoplavom moru i sivom danskom nebu stvara vizuelni kontrast koji se ne zaboravlja lako. Ovo je jedno od onih mesta koje se ne obilazi, već doživljava u punom značenju...

As this place is free ,no tickets are required to visit it. These are giant sculptures near the sea shore in Esbjerg. You will find Man by the Sea, a sculpture by Svend Wiig Hansen, which was created in connection with Esbjerg Municipality's 100th anniversary in 1994 and has since become an internationally known landmark for the city of Esbjerg.The sculpture depicts four white men in a row looking out over the sea. The figure is about 9 meters into the air and can be seen up to 10 kilometers from the sea side. The white men scouting out over the sea must symbolize the pure man's encounter with nature. It is one of the most beautiful...