Sep 19
2025

View of Walhorn from the sculpture trail.Achim Ripperger, Frankfurt/Main: “Monument to Change” (2021).

“Visions for Europe” is the motto of the 2nd International Sculpture Symposium in Walhorn in eastern Belgium, not far from the German border. From September 22 to October 04, 2025, stone artists from four countries will meet there to create works from the Walhorn Bluestone in the open air. The venue is the Monolithique company premises, on the edge of the old quarry on the Rotsch.

Visitors are not only welcome to watch, but are also expressly invited to ask the artists to explain the concept behind their works and their working techniques. The symposium offers “a unique opportunity to discover contemporary sculpture up close,” write the organizers.

This year’s artists are:
* Belgium: Sandro Dudenhausen, Walhorn,
* Netherlands: Leo Horbach, Landgraaf,
* Lithuania: Algis Kasparavičius, Vilnius,
* Germany: Daniela Clever, Dortmund,
* Germany: Herbert Leichtle, Wolfegg,
* Germany: Achim Ripperger, Frankfurt/Main.

The sculpture “Hospitality” by Leo Horbach, Landgraaf, Netherlands, depicts a boat with a drowned refugee boy.The sculpture “Hospitality” by Leo Horbach, Landgraaf, Netherlands, depicts a boat with a drowned refugee boy.
On Europe Day on May 09, 2026, their works will be integrated into the sculpture trail “Auf den Spuren der Steine” (In the Footsteps of Stones). This art trail was created as a result of the first sculpture symposium in 2021 and currently features seven sculptures. We are showing some of them here.

The trail is open to the public and follows the former path of the stones – from the quarry to the town center, where they were once used in construction. Like all towns in Europe, Walhorn has a long tradition of quarrying and using local stone, in this case bluish limestone.

The sculpture trail is set to grow with each subsequent edition of the symposium.

Herbert Leichtle, Ravensburg, Germany: “Europe and the Four Evangelists.”

It is one stop on the “European Sculpture Trail – Visions for Europe,” which was initiated by the Art Moves Europe association. Its goal is to commemorate the achievements of the European idea as an alternative to the country’s military traditions. It also aims to motivate people to actively engage with European issues and participate in shaping a positive future for the continent. “Cultural and regional diversity and democratic cooperation form the basis for a strong, open, united, and peaceful Europe,” according to the organizers.

Sculpture Symposium Walhorn 2025 (German)

1st Sculpture Symposium Walhorn 2025 (German)

Sculpture trail: Ostbelgien.eu

Art Moves Europe

Photos: Verkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Walhorn

Daniela Clever, Dortmund, Germany: “The Bridge.”Alfred Mevissen, Alsdorf, Germany: “All Men Become Brothers” depicts Beethoven, who had become deaf, composing.The sculpture trail leads around the former quarry.