Mettlach Abbey Park information board

After Kretschmar's death in 1768, construction continued until the beginning of the French Revolution. The main portal of the building contains Italian motifs, as well as notable keystone masks on the windows. The grimaces show distorted faces. Related motifs can be found in Mannheim Castle. During the French Revolution in 1809, Johann Franz Boch-Buschmann acquired the building complex, which is still known today as the headquarters of the Villeroy & Boch ceramics company. Old tower The tower was built as St. Mary's Church between 987 and 994 by Abbot Lioffin. The Old Tower is the oldest, upright, sacred building in Saarland. It is a small church with an octagonal floor plan, the arch on the entrance side dates back to the Ottonian period. The seven subsequent sides have trapezoidal niches containing Gothic tracery windows. The church's stair tower and the flat tent roof were reconstructed by the art friend Eugen von Boch. Together with the famous Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the church was extensively renovated in the mid-19th century. Mettlach Abbey Park Around 1850, Eugen von Boch created a small park in the abbey garden, which was modeled on the English Garden. In addition to a wide variety of native coniferous and deciduous tree species, he planted over 30 tree species from all continents. These include exotic species such as gingko from China, tulip trees from the American northeast or false cypresses from Japan. The small framed pond makes the picture perfect. The largest ceramic puzzle in the world The Expo 2000 landmark was secured for Mettlach as a tourist attraction. The earth spirit is a 14 meter high ivy figure that was also created by André Heller. Villeroy & Boch made the world's largest ceramic puzzle with 137,000 pieces for the appearance of WWF-Germany - World Wide Fund for Nature. The internationally renowned artist Stefan Szczesny designed the ceramic puzzle together with Villeroy & Boch from twelve impressive murals that represent the “world map of life”. The murals frame the pavilion designed by the famous artist and visionary André Heller, which is guarded by the “Earth Spirit”.