Sculpture series Wilhelmina Boulevard Noordwijk - Noordwijk aan Zee

On the Wilhelminaboulevard in Noordwijk aan Zee, you have to step off every time to view these beautiful works of art in the sea strip:

The Mermaid
This mermaid stretches her hands under her wavy water hair, is stark naked and has a curved back and fin. She appears to be stretching or just swimming. The bronze statue has been resting on a white natural stone boulder and a concrete base since 1987. It was made by Hungarian-Australian sculptor Peter Gelencsér (1936), who spent some time here in the 1960s.

Family
This marble sculpture of a man with all the cracks tells quite a story. The cracks and fissures represent division and difference of opinion in the world. Children hug the man while he holds a statue of a woman. On the back of the statue is the text: 'Those who bring joy are always children of sorrow.' Artist and sculptor Jurriaan van Hall (Heerlen, 1962) co-founded the former artists' collective After Nature and was artist of the year in 2004. He lives and works in Noordwijk, where Family was unveiled in 2007.

Statue of Queen Wilhelmina
The large bronze statue of Queen Wilhelmina has only stood on the Koningin Wilhelmina Boulevard in Noordwijk since 2000. Visual artist Kees Verkade (Haarlem 1941-2020) used a photo taken when the monarch inspected the troops stationed here in Noordwijk on 4 April 1940 for the design; sober with skirt, jacket and hat. None other than Soldier of Orange Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, together with former resistance fighter Jos Mulder Gemmeke, unveiled the monument. Hazelhoff Roelfzema was Queen Wilhelmina's former adjutant.
Draughtsman and sculptor Kees Verkade had a studio in Zandvoort aan zee for a long time, but later moved to Monaco. His last work in 2020 was a sculpture for the victims of the corona pandemic and a tribute to healthcare workers.

The Saviour
A man, clad in long mackintosh, boots and a large southwester, carries a clearly exhausted body in his arms. This rather modest bronze statue is a tribute to all rescuers! It was placed on Queen Wilhelmina Boulevard back in 1976 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Royal North and South Holland Rescue Society (KNZHRM). In particular, the sculpture is dedicated to three rescuers who died in a rescue operation in 1919.
Artist and sculptor Charlotte van Pallandt (Arnhem, 1898-1997) trained in Paris with Charles Despiau and also created, among other things, the famous statue of Queen Wilhelmina that stands near the Euromast in Rotterdam and a bronze copy of which stands in front of Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.