Fountain in Leipzig
In the past, the wells in Leipzig served to supply the population with water. The Leipzig fountains, built in the 19th and 20th centuries, shape the city's squares and are regarded as sights and jewelry as well as study objects for historians.
Fountain as part of the Leipzig water supply
The population of old Leipzig initially met their water needs primarily by using scoop and draw wells , the above-ground parts of which were simple wooden installations. Occasionally there were also suction wells (pumps or plumps) . From the 15th century, the practical simplicity of earlier fountain systems gave way to increasingly sophisticated forms of design. With the involvement of stonemasonry and blacksmith work, some artistically valuable buildings were created, which from then on not only served as water supply facilities, but also functioned as decorative elements in public spaces.
This dual functionality becomes particularly clear when looking at the Golden Fountain , which became famous far beyond the city limits. The fountain, once located on the market square across from Salzgässchen, was mentioned as early as 1495 and was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in 1581/82 by the stone mason Greger Richter . It derived its name from the lavish and rich golden ornamentation that made it visible from afar.
The golden fountain consisted of a stone tubing box with brass screw taps attached to the four corners to allow the water to flow out. Column decorations and sculptures of Roman warriors formed the upper end of the fountain, which rested on four pilasters . In 1650 the fountain was repaired, painted over and re-gilded. He received an iron pump for the spring water and a hood over the water shaft. Possibly the most beautiful historical fountain was demolished in 1826 after its (alleged) dilapidation had been determined.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the importance of the wells for the drinking water supply decreased. New possibilities have been devised to make use of the abundant water supply in the area:
After an attempt had already been made in 1496 to conduct water from a nearby spring into the city via a system of pipes, a pipeline from Marienborn near Thonberg was put into operation in 1504 , which supplied the Pauline monastery, several town houses and two public pipe boxes with drinking water. From 1519/21 onwards, pumping stations, so-called water arts , were also used to supply drinking water. However, it took over 140 years before the pumping stations were able to meet the needs of large sections of the urban population: In 1664, the Red Water Art (named after the door and window frames made of red porphyry ) was built on the Pleißemühlgraben opposite the Nonnenmühle (today area in front of the Federal Administrative Court ) , In 1670 the Black Water Art was built south of it .
A reed water plan from 1693 recorded 24 public fountains in the four Leipzig districts, which were mainly located in markets, streets, alleys, open spaces and in front of the city churches. Many properties also had their own well in the courtyard. The fate of Leipzig's fountains, their installation, choice of location and the decoration with sculptures were very eventful in the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition to the Golden Fountain, the council stonemason Richter also created a complex adorned with numerous water figures in the Nikolaikirchhof , which was demolished in 1656 and replaced the following year by a new fountain by the stonemason Caspar Junghans. The fountain on Neumarkt, which was moved to the courtyard of the Pauline monastery in 1539, also came from Richter. At the center of this building was a sculpture of St. Mauritius , until it was replaced in 1681 by a figure ensemble consisting of Neptune and a three-headed sea horse. In 1688 the Herkulesbrunnen was relocated to the Naschmarkt . There were two more wells in front of the Thomas School. One of them was the Lion Fountain , which was created in 1722 by Johann Georg Krafft from Pirna sandstone. In a contemporary description he is described with the following words: “He presents a well-shaped octagon in the round and with fields and cornices, also adorned cornices and cornices and painted with colors. On it stands an upright lion image, with the left paw of EE Hochweise Rats coat of arms, with the right but also on the head a shell and from here it also falls through various channels into the fountain, thus both a pleasant roar for both ears and a Amusement in front of one's eyes, so it can then be said with truth that if you can find much more beautiful fountains here, but none of them resembles the current Stegerian fountain in beauty. ” (From: Johann Jakob Vogel : Leipzigisches Geschicht-Buch or Annales. Leipzig 1714 , P. 93)
The well master (Bornmeister) was responsible for the supervision of the public water extraction points . They came from the ranks of the well community, that is, the group of people who drew their water from a certain well area. The well masters paid attention to the structural condition of the wells. In addition, they had to ensure that there was a so-called loop at each well, a kind of sledge with a filled water barrel, which was used in the event of a fire. The well masters were also responsible for collecting the “Borngelder”, a levy for the maintenance of the wells. Impurities were removed by the Bornfeger , who were also responsible for repairing leaks. Well-off households employed a water puller who pulled the water from the well and then carried it into the courtyards.
In addition to the public fountains in the urban area, there were also private fountains that adorned the garden plots in the suburbs. One of them was the fountain in Schwägrichen's garden, which was laid out by the previous owner Winckler around 1790. It was lost in 1890 because the garden area with Karl-Tauchnitz-Straße was built over.
Fountains as decorative elements in public spaces
In the 1860s, the Connewitz waterworks on the Bauernwiesen was the first groundwater works in Leipzig. The city administration also ordered the installation of a water reservoir with a capacity of 4,000 m³ on the Probstheidaer Flur . This completely marginalized the importance of the Leipzig fountains for the drinking water supply of the population. Since then, the design purpose of the fountain systems has been in the foreground. Of the fountains that still exist in the city, the oldest was inaugurated in 1886 (Mende fountain).
Fountain "bathing boy" and "bathing girl"
The “Badender Knabe” fountain is located in a niche in the passage of the Old Town Hall from the market square to the Naschmarkt . It was created in 1909 on the occasion of the extensive renovation of the building complex. The bronze sculpture of a naked boy standing on a shell and using both hands to squeeze a sponge over his head was made by the Leipzig sculptor Carl Seffner .
Only a few meters away from the “Badenden Knaben”, the female counterpart, the fountain “Badendes Mädchen”, was installed in a niche in the facade of the Old Town Hall facing the market. Originally it was adorned with a bronze sculpture by Johannes Hartmann . The original sculpture, which was stolen on the night of October 7, 1992, depicted a naked girl half kneeling on a tree stump with both hands on her hips. Since the installation of a bronze sculpture reproduced by Klaus Schwabe on December 2, 2000, the fountain has almost returned to its former shape.
Lion fountain
The Löwenbrunnen ( Lage ) located on the Naschmarkt opposite the main entrance of the Mädlerpassage dates back to 1918. At the same place, several previous buildings had existed since 1690. The first fountain is known to be surrounded by three steps and decorated with maritime mythical creatures and sandstone reliefs. On the copper, painted hood was a pyramid, the top of which was crowned by a golden sun.
Around 1820, the two iron lions that are still in existence today and the pump handles were cast in Lauchhammer according to designs by the Berlin sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow . Their arrangement was adopted in 1918, when the lion fountain was given its current appearance according to plans by Leipzig's chief building officer Hugo Licht . This is reminiscent of this in gold-colored capital letters on the back of the fountain: “In the last years of the war, 1918, this fountain was rebuilt in the old shape of the wooden housing by the rate by the architect Dr. Ing.Hugo Licht. The funds for this were donated by the Councilor of Commerce Hugo Haschke . "
Maiden Well
The Mägdebrunnen, inaugurated on May 31, 1906, which was formerly set up at the confluence of Seeburgstrasse and Sternwartenstrasse in Roßplatz , is now in the northern corner of the development ring on Roßplatz. The funds required for its establishment were raised by people from Leipzig who lived abroad. The fountain created by the sculptor Werner Stein consists of a six-sided water basin made of white shell limestone with smaller water basins in front of it on three sides. Above this there are capital letters (“If you want pure water, you have to use pure jugs”, “Water takes away everything, only bad speeches”, “Whoever wants to drink has to go along with it”).
The center of the structure is located on the decorated with lion heads center pillar life bronze figure of a Wasserträgerin with which the Lie of the fountain scene from JW Goethe I Faust by reference. The Mägdebrunnen was relocated around 1955 as part of the redesign of Roßplatz and extensively renovated in 1993.
Fairytale fountain
The fairy tale fountain in the promenade on Dittrichring was created in 1906 by Josef Mágr . The life-size bronze figures of the fairy tale characters Hansel and Gretel are located on a plinth in the grotto in the middle section . Above this is a stone relief of the witch and a raven. Above the benches on both sides of the central section there are two bronze reliefs depicting key scenes from the fairy tale (getting lost in the forest, discovering the crispy house, returning home).
The bronze parts of the well were removed in 1942 and used in the armaments industry. Since 1965 the fountain has been adorned with new figures designed by Leipzig artists Elfriede Ducke and Hanna Studnitzka .
Mende fountain
The largest and at the same time most magnificent fountain in the Leipzig city area is the Mende fountain. It is located on Augustusplatz in front of the (new) Gewandhaus ( location ) and is the only remaining part of the old square ensemble.
The fountain is named after Marianne Pauline Mende, b. Thieriot († January 25, 1881), widow of the merchant Ferdinand Wilhelm Mende (* 1799, † April 10, 1857, death by drowning in the Parthe River ) and aunt of the composer Ferdinand Thieriot , the testamentary 150,000 marks “to build a fountain to beautify the city of monumental architecture on a free space near the inner promenade, perhaps between the museum and the New Theater ” . Egon Erwin Kisch assumed that Mende was the owner of a brothel and wanted to atone for her wicked earthly actions with the generous bequest. The legend later turned out to be (possibly intentional) confusion.
The construction costs for the plant amounted to almost 189,000 marks. They could not be fully covered by the foundation capital, which had grown by interest. The shortfall of around 7,000 marks could be raised from the estate of the Leipzig merchant Franz Dominic Grassi .
From 1883 the fountain was built in the neo-renaissance style under the direction of the Nuremberg architect Adolf Gnauth , after whose death the city planner Hugo Licht directed the completion. The figure ensemble was created by the Munich sculptor Jacob Ungerer .
The Mende Fountain is to be understood as an allegory on the importance of water for humans. The maritime depictions embody figures from Greek mythology: Triton , the son of Poseidon , is depicted twice with a human upper body and a double-tailed fish body. The Triton figures curb powerfully rearing hippocamps , mythical creatures half horse, half fish, which can be interpreted as the control of the forces of the sea by humans. The nereids on the consoles of the almost 18 m high obelisk symbolize the benefits that people derive from dealing with the sea. Gnauth and Ungerer leaned on famous models of the Italian Baroque both in the basic conception of the fountain and in the selection and design of the sculptures . The references to the Roman fountain in Piazza Navona , the Fontana del Moro and the four rivers fountain designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini are unmistakable . The motif of the figure ensemble could be inspired by Nicola Salvis Trevi Fountain in Rome.
The inauguration of the Mende Fountain took place on September 2, 1886. In 1970 the facility was dismantled due to the construction of the Gewandhaus and was not put back into operation at its original location until June 1982. During the construction of the underground car park under Augustusplatz (1996–1998), the fountain was dismantled again.
Town hall fountain
The town hall fountain, which was handed over on October 7, 1908, the third anniversary of the inauguration of the New Town Hall , is located on Burgplatz in front of the entrance to the Ratskeller . Since the complete renovation was completed in 1999, the well has been in operation again after a five-year break.
The town hall fountain was financed by the citizens of Leipzig and designed by the Dresden sculptor Georg Wrba . It consists of an octagonal water basin made of shell limestone, in the middle of which there is a round column. The "fairy tale wreath" is attached to it, which is decorated with small figures from German fairy tales. On the pillar there is a group of figures made of bronze, consisting of a life-size boy playing the flute and two boys who are playing at his feet. This makes the fairy tale of the Pied Piper of Hameln the central motif of the fountain, which is also called the "Pied Piper Fountain" for this reason.
At the base of the column there are portrait medallions of the Leipzig mayors Otto Georgi (1831–1918) and Carl Bruno Tröndlin (1835–1908) as well as Hugo Licht, the builder of the New Town Hall . A bronze plaque on the back indicates the reason for the construction of the fountain: “In memory of the inauguration of the New Town Hall on October 7, 1905”.
Villersbrunnen
The Villersbrunnen, located on Tröndlinring, was built in 1903 on the initiative of the Leipzig publishing booksellers Dürr and Geibel under the direction of the sculptor Max Unger . Helene de Villers was Dürr's wife, who died in 1854 after a short marriage. The light stone complex rests on a rock foundation, above which the cast base with a large, round water basin rises. This arrangement is repeated on the central column of the fountain. The upper, smaller water basin is supported by three intertwined fish bodies. On top of it stands a bronze figure depicting a drinking female figure. The original figure was melted down in 1942 for the production of armaments. It was not until the 1950s that the fountain was restored to its original shape through a replica of the female figure. The figure created by the sculptor Markus Gläser was stolen in 1993 and replaced in 2003 by a true-to-detail copy.
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.leipzig-lexikon.de/Loewenbrunnen
- ↑ Egon Erwin Kisch: The legacy of Mrs. Mende. In: Risks all over the world. Universum library for everyone, Leipzig 1927.
- ↑ Mende-Brunnen and Mrs. Mende. In: Leipziger Volkszeitung from August 6, 1927
literature
- Helge-Heinz Heinker: Water makes history. 500 years of water supply in Leipzig. Municipal waterworks Leipzig, Leipzig 2005
- Wolfgang Hocquel: Leipzig: Architecture from the Romanesque to the present. 2nd edition, Passage Verlag, Leipzig 2004, ISBN 3-932900-54-5
- Ursula Oehme; Claudia Kloeppel: water games. The usabilities of Leipzig waters. Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig, Leipzig 1994, ISBN 3-910034-05-5
- Horst Riedel: Stadtlexikon Leipzig from A to Z. Pro Leipzig, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-936508-03-8
- Moritz Seeburg: The Marienborn and the water pipes of Leipzig. Leipzig 1836
