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Victor's Way

Coordinates: 53°05′09″N 6°13′11″W / 53.0857°N 6.2197°W / 53.0857; -6.2197
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Victor's Way
Ganesha statue, Victor's Way
Ganesha statue in Victor's Way, with Sugar Loaf mountain in background.
Map
TypeSculpture and philosophy park[1]
Locationnear Roundwood, County Wicklow, Ireland
Coordinates53°05′09″N 6°13′11″W / 53.0857°N 6.2197°W / 53.0857; -6.2197
Area9 hectares
Owned byVictor Langheld
StatusOpen during summer months[2]
CollectionsStatues
Websitewww.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.

The park

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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

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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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Victor's way Indian sculpture park Roundwood Co. Wicklow Ireland by Martin Varghese/IvisionIreland". youtube.com. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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]
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