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Messages in bottles found In the Rhine

April 17, 2015

Cologne artist Joachim Römer has been fishing bottles containing messages out of the River Rhine for years. His collection now amounts to some 1400 items. A current exhibition in Bingen is presenting some of them.

https://p.dw.com/p/1F9zX
Künstler Joachim Römer Flaschenpost
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg

The Museum am Strom in Bingen is showcasing 1001 exhibits from the messages in a bottle collection belonging to artist Joachim Römer. Visitors can see the exhibits still containing the messages on display behind glass. The accompanying letters were typed up and anonymised by the artist and he has described images. In this way, visitors can read what the messages found in each bottle say.

Joachim Römer has been collecting bottles containing messages since 1997. The items thrown into the Rhine are mainly found by Römer when he takes long strolls along the river bank at low water levels. His discoveries include small liquor bottles, jam jars, plastic bottles and even a hollowed out pumpkin. Tales of hope, sorrow, broken hearts, love declarations - each bottled message has its own story to tell.

The exhibition in Bingen runs from 18 April until 1 November 2015.

le/pw (dpa/Museum am Strom)