Manfred Gnädinger
Manfred Gnädinger (born January 27, 1936 in Böhringen ; † December 28, 2002 in Camelle , Galicia ) - known as O Alemán or Man - was a German hermit and sculptor who lived in Camelle on the Costa da Morte in Galicia. He spent his simple and nature-related life gardening and building sculptures on the beach.
Life
Gnädinger came to the fishing village of Camelle in 1962. Where he came from is unknown. He has been described as well dressed and well educated. A few years later he built a small hut on the beach of the Atlantic Ocean . Here he spent the next thirty years and became a local attraction. With a long beard and only wearing a loincloth in all weathers, he ate a strictly vegetarian diet from what the garden he cultivated. He swam regularly in the Atlantic Ocean. The locals called him O Alemán or just Man .
He created sculptures from stone, animal remains, driftwood and other alluvial material. Tourists visited the open-air museum he created. His only income was the small entrance fee he asked for a visit to the museum. He also asked his visitors to make small drawings in his notebooks. Hundreds of these drawings were found after his death.
The sinking of the Prestige tanker in 2002 led to an oil spill that also reached the beach where Gnädinger lived. Many of his works of art, his hut and his garden were affected. A month later, Gnädinger was found dead in his hut. He had suffered from circulatory problems and a respiratory disease. Locals suspected that he died of grief over the destruction of his garden and works of art.
His museum, which he donated to the municipality, can still be visited in Camelle.
Afterlife
In 2008, Bernardo Cequera made a 58 minute long documentary entitled Manfred, a shipwrecked man on the Costa da Morte .
On the tenth anniversary of his death on December 28, 2012, Manfred Gnädinger was exhumed and cremated to be buried in his museum, as he wished in his will. This was only symbolic. More than 5 years later, on January 27, 2018, the urn was buried in a ceremony in his museum.
literature
- Xoán Abeleira: A pegada de Man . Xerais, Vigo 2006, ISBN 84-9782-464-4 .
- Beatriz Maceda Abeleira: MAN. O ALEMAN DE CAMELLE . Medulia, A Coruña. 3ª Edición (2019). German translation in planning.
Web links
- Material collection on Manfred Gnädinger at www.mandecamelle.net (Spanish)
- Henk van Es: Manfred Gnädinger, Museo del Aleman / Museum of the German , November 29, 2009 (English)
- Genaro Diaz: Fotografias de Man, el aleman de Camelle , 1998 (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hermit sculptor 'killed by oil spill' . BBC News World Edition, December 29, 2002
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gnädinger, Manfred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | O Alemán; Man |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German hermit and sculptor in Galicia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Boehringen |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 28, 2002 |
| Place of death | Camelle , Galicia |