upright=1.4, ''The Green Cathedral'', by Marinus Boezem (July 2009) GOPR0061

The Green Cathedral or ''De Groene Kathedraal'' located near

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...

in the Netherlands, is an artistic planting of

Lombardy poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

s (''Populus nigra italica'') that mimics the size and shape of the

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims , image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg , imagealt = Facade, looking northeast , caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast , pushpin map = France , pushpin map alt = Location within France , ...

, France. The Green Cathedral is long and wide, and the mature poplar trees are about tall.

History

The work was planted by

Marinus Boezem Marinus Lambertus van den Boezem (born 28 January 1934) is a Dutch artist. He is known for his radical view of art and his works in public space. Together with Wim T. Schippers, Ger van Elk and Jan Dibbets, Boezem is seen as one of the main repre ...

(b. 1934) on April 16, 1987, in Southern Flevoland. The land art project was installed on polder land; 178 trees were planted on a knoll, a half-metre above the surrounding area. Over the following years, some trees were replaced due to deer damage, and stone was laid in the floor to echo the cross ribs and support beams of the cathedral.

21st century

Now mature, the cathedral has become a location for weddings, funerals, meetings, and religious services of all kinds. Nearby, a clearing has been made in a young beech forest so that the open space is in the shape of the same cathedral. Boezem suggests, as the poplars decline, the beech trees around the clearing will grow to create the church once more, thus ensuring a cyclical evolution of growth, decline, and growth.

Art

There have also been art performances by theater group Suburbia called Judas (2015), Performance Melanie Bonajo - Matrix Botanica, Biosphere Above Nations (2013)

References

Geography of Flevoland Land art 1987 establishments in the Netherlands Tourist attractions in Flevoland Almere {{Flevoland-geo-stub