1/6 Jos with some of his buildings in the park (Photo: Rogier van Son).
Jose van Gils (72) from Son en Breugel has been a dental technician for much of his life. You wouldn’t immediately guess that his garden is full of little houses, castles and fairytale buildings that he made himself. He can explain it himself. Due to his previous work, he is used to being very precise when making bridges and crowns. He now uses these skills to build his own imaginary world.
“I like to call it Madurodam Park,” he says. Pedestrians regularly stop by his garden in Orionlan. “If they’re there for more than a minute, they can also come and look in the backyard.”
Gus right away. He uses photographs to recreate miniature buildings. In this way he built a little piece of Amsterdam. He thought the brothel shouldn’t be missing. “A brothel here in Orionlan. I have a really good reputation,” he says, smiling broadly. “That’s part of it. “This is Amsterdam.”
The practice room where he worked on bridges and crowns is now his hobby room. Gus had been working on one of the buildings for months. Here you can retreat into your own world. “I’m a dreamer sometimes. I’m an imaginative person.”
“I bought all my boxes of cereal from one store.”
Anyone walking through its garden will also come across scenes from The Lord of the Rings films. Gus also loves recreating existing buildings from around the world. The Colosseum in Rome, a piece of Russia, a pyramid from Egypt. “These are buildings in Greece,” he says while giving a tour. This is a village in Switzerland. You have it all together here.”
His wife loves his hobby and sometimes gives advice. “Then she said the ceiling should be a lighter color. That works well. Or donate a knitting needle that he can use as a flagpole.”
It only has stained glass windows and roof tiles from the factory. What’s more, Gus makes everything himself. All types of materials can be useful. For example, he uses medicine boxes as molds for making stones. “I bought all my boxes of pills at one store. The cashier thought: ‘This guy’s taking a lot of medicine. She didn’t know why I needed them.’
“This is a real piece of Eftling.”
I started 25 years ago. In Gus’s garden there was a statue of Love, one of the inhabitants of the fictional land of Love in Efteling. Someone suggested adding a house. So more and more were added. “I say every time I quit. And after a while there’s something new again.”
But this is not the only piece of Efteling in Goss Park. “That’s the girl with the matches. There was a drawing in the newspaper. They shouldn’t show it to me. Then I should go again if necessary. I often hear from people that it looks like Mount Efteling up here.”
Gus himself probably enjoys it the most. “Every morning, when I open the curtains, I feel like I’m seeing her for the first time. It feels so beautiful.” But he also enjoys showing it to others. So, if you’re looking for a special fall getaway, you can drive to Orionlaan in Son en Breugel. “I’d like to talk about it. They can know everything.”
