Turtle Bridge (Schildpaddenbrug) over the Worm

Two turtles at both ends of the bridge, the eastern one in Germany, the western one in the Netherlands. Councilor Volker Schlüter of Übach-Palenberg and mayor Bert Janssen of Langraaf opened the bridge over the Worm as an artistic 'turtle bridge' on Sunday, July 5, 2009 during the Festival des Arts in Rimburg. The turtles, which are placed on either side of the bridge, symbolize close cooperation across the border. As part of the cross-border partnership between the municipalities of Herzogenrath, Übach-Palenberg, Landgraaf and Kerkrade (HÜLK) and Würselen, a number of bridges over the border river Worm are being artistically decorated under the motto 'Building Bridges' (Brückenschlag). Building bridges between Germany and the Netherlands is the pivot in the HÜLK collaboration's aim to upgrade the border country of Wormdal from a two-sided area to a new shared 'center', where landscape, nature, architecture, art and culture (history) can be enjoyed without limits. A competition was organized in 2006 among artists and (landscape) architects for the 'Building Bridges' project. The assignment was to give a number of bridges over the Worm, which partly forms the national border, a special architectural or artistic form that on the one hand expresses an awareness of the border, and on the other hand 'builds a bridge' across the border and connects: spatially, socially and cultural. For Rimburg, the German artists Stefan Sous and Heinke Haberland won the competition with the turtles on the bridge. A small intervention with a big effect, matching the bridge, which already has a beautiful shape. The turtles each stand at one end of the bridge - one in Germany, one in the Netherlands - with their heads facing each other. They express rapprochement with each other and they stand for life and sustainability, for closer future cooperation across borders.

Border Netherlands-Germany

Great border crossing