Muurgedichten (Leiden Wall Poems), Leiden

Leiden is not only known for its canals and historic charm but also its open-air poetry museum: the Wall Poems. This remarkable project, spanning over a decade, adorned the city’s exterior walls with more than 110 poems in various languages, transforming the urban landscape into a celebration of global literature.

The Wall Poems project began in 1992, spearheaded by artists Ben Walenkamp and Jan Willem Bruins of the private Tegen-Beeld Foundation. The initiative was supported by corporate sponsorships and the city of Leiden itself. The first poem, written in Russian by Marina Tsvetaeva, marked the start of a cultural journey that (temporarily) concluded in 2005 with Federico García Lorca’s Spanish piece De Profundis.

The collection features an extraordinary variety of poets, ranging from international greats like E. E. Cummings, Langston Hughes, Du Fu, and Pablo Neruda, to European legends such as William Shakespeare, Rainer Maria Rilke, and W. B. Yeats. It also includes local Dutch poets such as Piet Paaltjens and J. C. Bloem. One of the most unique contributions is a poem in the Buginese language, displayed near the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, accompanied by translations in Dutch and English.

Each wall poem invites viewers to explore both the written word and the physical city. For those eager to experience these works firsthand, a walking tour guide highlights 25 of the 101 poems scattered throughout Leiden. Additionally, the first 43 poems were compiled in Close to the Wall: poems in Leiden by Marleen van der Weij (Dicht op de muur: gedichten in Leiden by Marleen van der Weij), with a second volume released in 2005 to complete the collection.

The Wall Poems project stands as a testament to Leiden’s rich literary and artistic spirit, offering residents and visitors a profound and multilingual encounter with poetry in the most unexpected places.