Borges Memorial Maze

Growing a lovely memorial garden for someone is one thing, but when honoring someone of the intellectual caliber of author Jorge Luis Borges, things can get understandably more complex. The Borges Memorial Maze in Argentina is a beautiful hedge maze at its most basic level, but takes on more aspects depending on the perspective.

Located on the grounds of the mid-1800s fort-cum-estate-grounds Finca Los Alamos, the maze was created in 2003 by diplomat, maze designer, and Borges friend, Randoll Coate. Borges’ history with the Finca Los Alamos goes back to before the creation of the maze as he had also had a personal relationship with writer Susana Bombal who had taken over the site in the 1930s. However Coates’ maze firmly planted (pun intended) Borges’ legacy at the site.

The maze is spread out across over 66,000 square feet of land, comprising over 12,000 box hedges. On the whole, the maze is shaped like an open book with the spine running down the center. Within the confines of the pages, the twisting hedges also spell out “Borges,” both forward and then in a mirror image.

Borges may not have been alive to see this monument to his life and work, but given his interest in mazes, layers, and labyrinths, it’s easy to think that he would have appreciated it.