Bechstein fountain
The Bechstein Fountain , also known as the Märchenbrunnen , is a fountain built in 1909 in the town of Meiningen . It is dedicated to the writer, archivist, collector of fairy tales and legends Ludwig Bechstein (1801–1860). The fountain created by Robert Diez is on a main path in the English Garden .
history
In honor of its founder Ludwig Bechstein, the Hennebergisch-Altertumsforschende Verein (HAV) opened a memorial fund for the construction of a fairy tale fountain worth 8,500 gold marks on November 24, 1901, on his 100th birthday . Initially, it was to be built not far from Bechstein's house on the site of the swan fountain in Marienstraße. However, the city later opted for a more accessible location in the English Garden. The city and association were able to win over the well-known sculptor Robert Diez from Dresden to design the fountain .
On May 14, 1909, the 49th anniversary of Bechstein's death, the fairytale fountain was inaugurated by senior building officer and architect Eduard Fritze . As chairman of the Hennebergisch antiquity research association, Fritze also held the keynote address. The total cost in the end was 15,000 gold marks. The sponsors included the Kaiser Wilhelm II. , The Duke Georg II. , The judiciary and banker Adolf Braun , the city of Meiningen and a number of historical societies and schools.
At the end of 1990, thieves disguised as a construction crew stole the group of bronze figures attached to the fountain basin in broad daylight. Despite an intensive search, the stolen goods could no longer be tracked down. Among the estate of the sculptor Diez in the Dresden City Museum was the wooden sculpture that once served as a template for the manufacture of the bronze figures. The city of Meiningen then had a new group of figures poured and installed in the mid-1990s to prevent theft.
layout
The base and basin of the fountain are made of massive limestone, on which there are reliefs of animals and mythical creatures . The fountain basin is fed by two forest spirits and a copper frog's head, which are arranged around the basin on three sides and each has two water outlets. A copper plaque for Ludwig Bechstein is attached above the frog's head. On the limestone plinth stands the bronze group of figures "Forest Secret", which was made as a model based on a wooden sculpture created by Diez in 1894. This represents a misshapen, good-natured earth spirit is that of a nymph zuraunt secrets from inside the earth, which in turn the people as fairy tales retold.
swell
- City administration Meiningen: Official Gazette of the City of Meiningen , edition 2/1991
- Meiningen Board of Trustees: Stadtlexikon Meiningen , Bielsteinverlag Meiningen 2008. ISBN 978-3-9809504-4-2 .
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 34 ′ 19.4 ″ N , 10 ° 25 ′ 8.5 ″ E
