Famous Luise Kimme's Sculpture Museum in Port of Spain

If you ever book your cheap flights to Port of Spain to visit Tobago, just don’t forget to visit the famous Luise Kimme's Sculpture Museum. Popularly called “The Castle”, the Kimme Museum was originally designed by a German sculptor Luise Kimme, who resided in Tobago for 29 years and breathed her last here. The museum has been built over half of acre of land, which was also her studio and workshop. The place where the museum is situated overlooks the Caribbean Sea as well as the Mount Irvine Golf Course.

The exhibits at the Kimme Museum are showcased on three floors. The exhibits here are entirely sculptures carved of wood and bronze. The sculptures here are ancient as well as modern. The collections at the museum comprises of 30 life size bronze statues essentially cast in the German city of Dusseldorf. The museum also hosts 120 life size as well as oversized wooden carvings. Apart from these, the museum also showcases modern dance paintings. The museum is open for visits only on Sundays starting from 10 am to 2 pm.

There is a peculiar story that goes into the making of the wooden sculptures at the museum. Most of the sculptures here have been carved from German oak. Once a severe storm hit southern Germany where an entire field of oak trees was uprooted, Luise Kimme purchased all the oak trees that were fell by the storm and got them transported to Port of Spain. The wood from these oak trees were then used for making sculptures by Kimme.

As you explore the museum, you will be captivated by the sculptures here. The life size sculptures appear to be lively as you approach them. But, you won’t be able to figure on which personalities these sculptures are after all based on.

All kinds of sculptures are to be found here. Some of the famous wood sculptures at The Kimme Museum include a 14-foot tall religious statue, Nijinsky ballet dancers, dancing couples, mythological figures and early folklore characters. The sculptures here essentially depict the life of people of Tobago, lifestyle, customs, belief, dances, folklore and the natural surroundings.