Boniface Stirnberg

Bronze group on the station forecourt in Aachen

Bonifatius Stirnberg (born February 20, 1933 in Freienohl ) is a German sculptor .

Life

From 1948 he did an apprenticeship as a wood sculptor and in 1951 as a carpenter . Both training courses were successfully completed with the journeyman's examination . He then began studying interior design and sculpture at the Werkkunstschule Aachen (formerly: Kunstgewerbeschule Aachen ), which he graduated in 1959. 1957 followed the master's examination as a wood sculptor. From 1962 he studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy , among others with Joseph Beuys in sculpture . Since 1973 he has had his own studio with an attached bronze foundry in Aachen .

In 1967, Stirnberg designed a group of sculptures with moving elements. His design was not accepted at the time and was only realized as a doll fountain in Aachen in 1975 . This fountain with numerous bronze figures, some of which have movable limbs, is still very popular today and represented the breakthrough for the artist. From then on he received many orders from home and abroad. His fountains and sculptures are almost always related to the history or stories of the respective city and are always considered art to touch.

Litigation

A legal dispute between the artist and the city administration of Aachen caused a stir . It was about a sculpture he made for the forecourt of Aachen Central Station. The bronze horses of the sculpture from 1975 were removed during the renovation of the Aachen station forecourt in 2004/05 and reassembled about 20 meters away. In the lawsuit, Stirnberg relied on his copyright and sought legal protection in court. The Regional Court of Cologne ruled that the artist had no right to choose or determine the location. However, the city must restore the original internal arrangement of the horses.

Works

designation	year	place	description
Bird fountain	around 1980	Bad Honnef
Karl Berbuer Fountain / Ship of Fools	1987	Cologne
Tow fountain	1988	Hattingen	on the Obermarkt in memory of the Ruhr shipping
Carnival fountain	2001	Alsdorf
Minerva fountain (also popularly called Muttkrat fountain )	2011	Jülich
Doll fountain		Aachen
Möschebrunnen (Sparrow Fountain)		Aachen
Musikantenbrunnen		Donaueschingen
Friendship fountain		Sindelfingen
Guild fountain		Reutlingen
Official gray fountain		Wangen in the Allgäu
Well cowherd - Kuh ‑ Het		Milly
Apostle sculpture		Leutkirch	in the motorway chapel
Alpzug sculpture group		Immenstadt
Get sick, Offebach		Offenbach am Main
Legend well		Jever
City fountain		Weissenfels	in Jüdenstrasse
Council well		Linz am Rhein (Neuwied district)
Horse sculpture		Aachen	In front of the train station
Weber fountain		Monschau	Marketplace
Crucifixion group Henger Herrjotts Fott		Aachen
Datterich fountain		Darmstadt
Donkey from Wesel		Wesel
History fountain		Bergheim
Vineyard fountain		Koblenz
Cossack well		Jever
City fountain		Werl
Haihover Juffer		Geilenkirchen
Boniface fountain		Bad Sassendorf
Century fountain	1997	Herford	The fountain in Gehrenberg is reminiscent of Herford originals with its moving figures.
Estates fountain		Osnabrück
Bürgerbrunnen		Lippstadt
Chancellor's Fountain		Lemgo
Palatinate joie de vivre		Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Munchausen Fountain		Bodenwerder
Play fountain "Blue Monday"		Warendorf
Mozart Trio		Santa Barbara, California, USA
Boys play fountain		Würselen	on the lower Morlaixplatz
Galminus fountain		Stolberg
Market fountain		Glauchau
Heggestrover		Alsdorf	on Brunssumer Platz. The Heggeströver, as it was popularly called, was a narrow-gauge railway. From 1900 to 1953 it ran the route between Alsdorf and Geilenkirchen.