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Independent, UK
17 September 2006
Welcome to the House of Chaos
By Jen Wainwright in Paris
Published: 17 September 2006
The village of Saint-Romain-au-Mont-d'Or, near Lyons,
has several historical monuments of which its citizens
are rightly proud. But they are distinctly less happy
with the Demeure du Chaos (Home of Chaos), an open-air
"museum" created by eccentric resident Thierry
Ehrmann.
Since 1999, Mr Ehrmann, 44, has developed the
two-and-a-half-acre site into an apocalyptic work of
art. The grounds of the once-elegant house are
dominated by an enormous reconstruction of the attacks
on the World Trade Centre. A helicopter lies destroyed
in the front garden. Portraits of Osama bin Laden
adorn the outer walls. A swimming pool is filled with
water the colour of blood.
Inside the 17th-century house, the walls are also
decorated with scenes of chaos. "There we have
Chernobyl, here the Armenian massacre, over there
Guantanamo Bay," Mr Ehrmann explains.
What is it for? "When we settled here we realised we
were in grave danger of becoming bourgeois," he said.
"All that remains of the bourgeois condition should be
drowned in a state of permanent warfare."
The house, which is regularly opened to the public,
provokes strong reactions. Some love it, some hate it.
Mayor Pierre Dumont wanted it demolished, claiming it
was in breach of local planning laws. But after two
years of legal wrangling, the Lyons appeal court
rejected the Mayor's complaints. Three appeal judges
decided the site had artistic merit and was therefore
partially exempt from planning laws.
An earlier judgment that parts of the museum should be
destroyed was set aside. However, Mr Ehrmann was fined
200,000 (£135,000) for exceeding legal height limits.
Mayor Dumont was disappointed. "What has become of the
law if what is forbidden for some is permissible for
others?" he said.
Mr Ehrmann, founder of a company specialising in the
distribution of legal databases, is said to be the
307th richest man in France. He was jubilant despite
the heavy fine, claiming that he had achieved a
"victory over obscurantism".
The village of Saint-Romain-au-Mont-d'Or, near Lyons,
has several historical monuments of which its citizens
are rightly proud. But they are distinctly less happy
with the Demeure du Chaos (Home of Chaos), an open-air
"museum" created by eccentric resident Thierry
Ehrmann.
Since 1999, Mr Ehrmann, 44, has developed the
two-and-a-half-acre site into an apocalyptic work of
art. The grounds of the once-elegant house are
dominated by an enormous reconstruction of the attacks
on the World Trade Centre. A helicopter lies destroyed
in the front garden. Portraits of Osama bin Laden
adorn the outer walls. A swimming pool is filled with
water the colour of blood.
Inside the 17th-century house, the walls are also
decorated with scenes of chaos. "There we have
Chernobyl, here the Armenian massacre, over there
Guantanamo Bay," Mr Ehrmann explains.
What is it for? "When we settled here we realised we
were in grave danger of becoming bourgeois," he said.
"All that remains of the bourgeois condition should be
drowned in a state of permanent warfare."
The house, which is regularly opened to the public,
provokes strong reactions. Some love it, some hate it.
Mayor Pierre Dumont wanted it demolished, claiming it
was in breach of local planning laws. But after two
years of legal wrangling, the Lyons appeal court
rejected the Mayor's complaints. Three appeal judges
decided the site had artistic merit and was therefore
partially exempt from planning laws.
An earlier judgment that parts of the museum should be
destroyed was set aside. However, Mr Ehrmann was fined
200,000 (£135,000) for exceeding legal height limits.
Mayor Dumont was disappointed. "What has become of the
law if what is forbidden for some is permissible for
others?" he said.
Mr Ehrmann, founder of a company specialising in the
distribution of legal databases, is said to be the
307th richest man in France. He was jubilant despite
the heavy fine, claiming that he had achieved a
"victory over obscurantism".
17 September 2006
Welcome to the House of Chaos
By Jen Wainwright in Paris
Published: 17 September 2006
The village of Saint-Romain-au-Mont-d'Or, near Lyons,
has several historical monuments of which its citizens
are rightly proud. But they are distinctly less happy
with the Demeure du Chaos (Home of Chaos), an open-air
"museum" created by eccentric resident Thierry
Ehrmann.
Since 1999, Mr Ehrmann, 44, has developed the
two-and-a-half-acre site into an apocalyptic work of
art. The grounds of the once-elegant house are
dominated by an enormous reconstruction of the attacks
on the World Trade Centre. A helicopter lies destroyed
in the front garden. Portraits of Osama bin Laden
adorn the outer walls. A swimming pool is filled with
water the colour of blood.
Inside the 17th-century house, the walls are also
decorated with scenes of chaos. "There we have
Chernobyl, here the Armenian massacre, over there
Guantanamo Bay," Mr Ehrmann explains.
What is it for? "When we settled here we realised we
were in grave danger of becoming bourgeois," he said.
"All that remains of the bourgeois condition should be
drowned in a state of permanent warfare."
The house, which is regularly opened to the public,
provokes strong reactions. Some love it, some hate it.
Mayor Pierre Dumont wanted it demolished, claiming it
was in breach of local planning laws. But after two
years of legal wrangling, the Lyons appeal court
rejected the Mayor's complaints. Three appeal judges
decided the site had artistic merit and was therefore
partially exempt from planning laws.
An earlier judgment that parts of the museum should be
destroyed was set aside. However, Mr Ehrmann was fined
200,000 (£135,000) for exceeding legal height limits.
Mayor Dumont was disappointed. "What has become of the
law if what is forbidden for some is permissible for
others?" he said.
Mr Ehrmann, founder of a company specialising in the
distribution of legal databases, is said to be the
307th richest man in France. He was jubilant despite
the heavy fine, claiming that he had achieved a
"victory over obscurantism".
The village of Saint-Romain-au-Mont-d'Or, near Lyons,
has several historical monuments of which its citizens
are rightly proud. But they are distinctly less happy
with the Demeure du Chaos (Home of Chaos), an open-air
"museum" created by eccentric resident Thierry
Ehrmann.
Since 1999, Mr Ehrmann, 44, has developed the
two-and-a-half-acre site into an apocalyptic work of
art. The grounds of the once-elegant house are
dominated by an enormous reconstruction of the attacks
on the World Trade Centre. A helicopter lies destroyed
in the front garden. Portraits of Osama bin Laden
adorn the outer walls. A swimming pool is filled with
water the colour of blood.
Inside the 17th-century house, the walls are also
decorated with scenes of chaos. "There we have
Chernobyl, here the Armenian massacre, over there
Guantanamo Bay," Mr Ehrmann explains.
What is it for? "When we settled here we realised we
were in grave danger of becoming bourgeois," he said.
"All that remains of the bourgeois condition should be
drowned in a state of permanent warfare."
The house, which is regularly opened to the public,
provokes strong reactions. Some love it, some hate it.
Mayor Pierre Dumont wanted it demolished, claiming it
was in breach of local planning laws. But after two
years of legal wrangling, the Lyons appeal court
rejected the Mayor's complaints. Three appeal judges
decided the site had artistic merit and was therefore
partially exempt from planning laws.
An earlier judgment that parts of the museum should be
destroyed was set aside. However, Mr Ehrmann was fined
200,000 (£135,000) for exceeding legal height limits.
Mayor Dumont was disappointed. "What has become of the
law if what is forbidden for some is permissible for
others?" he said.
Mr Ehrmann, founder of a company specialising in the
distribution of legal databases, is said to be the
307th richest man in France. He was jubilant despite
the heavy fine, claiming that he had achieved a
"victory over obscurantism".