For ten days, a giant woman sculpture called “Die Badende” (“The Bather”) will grace the lake – making Inner Alster essentially the world’s biggest bathtub. She rises 13 feet out of the water and appears in a comfortable state of repose, with her knees up, proving quite an obstacle for boaters in the Inner Alster. In fact, many have been renting paddleboats just to get a closer glimpse.
She stretches 67 feet long and weighs more than 2 tons. Created by German sculptor Oliver Voss, “Die Badende” is in reality an advertisement for British beauty products company Soap & Glory to promote the “art” of bathing. Many tourists have been awestruck by the aquatic sculpture. But of course, all art has to make waves in some form. The Daily Mail reports that district mayor Markus Schreiber told a German newspaper that “Die Badende” was “sullying the beloved lake.”
“The Bather” will be hoisted out of the water on August 12 by a crane. And the company says they’ll have a giant towel at the ready to dry her off. Good thing, too: we expect she’ll be a bit pruny after her 10-day soak.
