Iconic Public Art in Switzerland...?

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Watching a trailer for a TV show yesterday and it showed Michael Johnson (famous athlete) in front of the Angel of the North in my home town of Newcastle

[](https://www.englishforum.ch/attachments/travel-day-trips-free-time/17492d1280733392-iconic-public-art-switzerland-angel_of_the_north.jpg)

Anyway....it made me wonder.....are there any pieces of similar iconic public art in Switzerland that are worth a drive to see.....I like the Angel in Zurich Station, and the fountains in front of the Bundeshaus in Bern too.....

I'm not talking about "famous sights" like the jet in Geneva for example.....I mean art for the sake of art alone....

2
I'm not sure this meets your criteria... but could hundreds of Japanese tourists be so far wrong?

3
Sure it does but I feel very stupid now...where is it?

4
Do the Basel Tinguely fountains count?

5
it's in Geneva ... just in front of the main UN entrance

I forget the exact inscription but it's a memorial - dedication to victims of land mines ( chair with one leg blown off :-( )

6
There's the weeping lion in Luzern

Do buildings count? there's also the KKL

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You raise a good point Cyrus. When I read the question, I must admit that I struggled a bit to find more. Now that I read your post, it puts me in mind of the fact that a not insignificant portion of art in CH is tied up in buildings, which reminds me of this thread if the OP is interested.

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ok .. my turn.... now where is teh KKL ?

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Luzern...its a cool place

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I've always thought the lack of massive iconic pieces of art was down to the lack of space, but reading this, I agree - a lot is tied up in buildings. Here's one in Zurich from Corbusier that's iconic for the architecture nerds among us:

http://www.centrelecorbusier.com/frameset2.html

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It wasn't specifically about buildings, no.......but interested to see which people consider art too

12
On a less grandiose scale there is the statue of William Tell on the Montbenon Esplanade in Lausanne:

Sorry I couldn't find a picture with the view of the lake and mountains over which the statue faces: that is grandiose.

13
Also the Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux?

14
The Paxmal above the Walensee isn't what I'd call iconic, but it's clearly loony, which qualifies as a sub-category. Worth a visit if you're hiking up there, if only to frollick in the pools with the nymphs.

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Freddy Mercury in Montreux:

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Quite unique, just outside Dübendorf

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Great thread - thanks.

I love the big fork in the lake just off Vevey.

You'll also find Charlie Chaplin on Vevey lakefront too.

There is a Thai Pavillion in Parc Denantou in Ouchy. A gift from the Thai government.

There is also lots of beautiful sculpture around the offices of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Museum grounds.

I actually find there is a lot of great public art around Vaud. Are we just luckier here?

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how could I have forgotten the big fork !!! ( no really.. how could I ? a pic I took of it is actually my laptop wallpaper. )

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The Max Bill installation on Bahnofstrasse in Zh

quite possibly one of the best pieces of public art in my personnal opinion.

It's nice, it's functional, one of the rare pieces that gives you a sense of truly being there with the people for the people.

The location, the placement, direction etc makes it perfect to me in so many ways.

There are a few other public art pieces around Zh. Some big some small.

Couple years back a project of mine led me to photograph these pieces, unfortunately the project was never completed.

I believe there are also some Hans Arp pieces, italian artists, dada things around the city. From memory I could find info on the city website.

Here is a map I did at the time. Look for the camera icons. The rest is various shops/museums/attractions

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...78192&t=h&z=14

Basel has a nice Richard Serra piece on top of the stairs next to the Tinguely fountain.

I have more info on the subject and will post later

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That fork is EXACTLY the kind of thing I wanted to discover....Thanks so much