Bugenhagen fountain

Bugenhagen fountain on Andreasplatz in Hildesheim

Bugenhagen fountain from the church tower of St. Andrew's Church seen from

The Bugenhagenbrunnen is a monument created by Ulrich Henn , which was inaugurated on Pentecost Sunday 1995 on Andreasplatz in Hildesheim . It is dedicated to Johannes Bugenhagen , who gave the first evangelical sermon (“Repent and believe the Gospel” ( Mk 1.15 EU )) in the St. Andrew's Church on September 1, 1542 . The Friedrich Weinhagen Foundation in Hildesheim financed it. The fountain is 7.5 meters high and 8 meters in diameter. It is cast in bronze. In the work of art, the artist did not so much represent the person of Bugenhagen, but rather his work - "updated", as Johannes Brockhoff writes.

Bugenhagen in Hildesheim and the entire Low German-speaking area

Bugenhagen had created a church order for Braunschweig in 1528 , which was then largely adopted for other cities (including Hildesheim). He acted as an advisor for other church ordinances. In the context of the sovereign church regiment, church ordinances can “justifiably be described as state treaties with constitutional status”, explains Hans-Jürgen Abromeit. He appreciatively points out that Bugenhagen succeeded in getting 14 guilds and five communities in Braunschweig to agree. The Braunschweig church ordinance contained three main areas : “1. The school system, 2. the preaching office and 3. the welfare of the poor ”states Abromeit. Bugenhagen had "opened up" the entire Low German language area from Friesland to the Baltic States for the Reformation.

Construction of the well

The fountain is designed in the shape of a chandelier. A candle shaft protrudes from a truncated cone-shaped base, on which a cross is attached as a flame. The monument has a filigree structure made from ears of wheat, vine leaves and grapes. Beech leaves can also be seen in the foot. There are three medallions in it depicting the ministry of the Church: sermon, baptism and communion, and diakonia. Three scenes from the Bible are depicted in the column: Zacchaeus , the little tax collector , whom Jesus asks to get down from the tree because he wants to come to him, the washing of feet and the return of the prodigal son. At the top there is the crucifix in place of the candle flame .

Theological statement of the monument

The Bugenhagen fountain is “a single sermon in pictures,” writes Johannes Brockhoff. The key messages of the Reformation are clear from the memorial: Man will be saved ...

through faith alone ("in the revelation of God in Christ")
only through scripture ("because in it God's word is understandable through human word")
by the grace of God alone and not by imperfect works.

Base of the chandelier with bronze reliefs

The fountain is incorporated below the foot and the water trickles down four steps into a channel around the monument. On the sloping surface of the lower part of the chandelier, three themes relating to the service of the church are depicted as a bronze relief:

Sermon - From the pulpit , people standing around or sitting below are addressed.
Baptism and Last Supper - The two most important sacraments in the Protestant Church
Diakonie - In addition to the handicapped (with sticks), Henn also includes prisoners (chained hands and feet) as well as serving children and non-residents (with the “satchel” on their backs).

sermon
Baptism and communion
Diakonia

Openwork column with inserted pictures

In the column between the foot and the crucifix at the top, three biblical stories are addressed:

the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, who climbs a tree to see Jesus passing by because he is so small. He is asked by Jesus to come down - "I have to be your guest today". ( Lk 19.5 GNB )
the story of the washing of feet at the Last Supper , when Peter was amazed that Jesus wanted to wash his feet and he replied: "You cannot understand what I am doing now, but you will understand later" ( Jn 13, 1-11 GNB )
the story of the father and his son : the son can be paid off to try his luck in a foreign country. Having run out of things, he decides to go back to his father as a day laborer. “So he went to see his father. He was still a long way from the house when his father saw him coming and he felt pity. He ran to meet him, fell around his neck and showered him with kisses. ”The older brother also sees the subsequent celebration as a bottomless injustice. But the father justifies his actions with the sentences “Your brother was dead and is alive again. He was lost and has been found again. "( Lk 15.20 GNB )

Top picture in the Bugenhagen fountain: Zacchaeus
Middle picture: The washing of the feet
Lower picture: The homecoming of the prodigal son

Crucifix on top

The Christ on the cross on the top of the monument looks onto Andreasplatz. The cross is tilted forward a little, the hands nailed to the cross look as if they were spread out for a blessing.

Ulrich Henn and Hildesheim

This is not the first time that the artist Ulrich Henn has worked in Hildesheim with this monument. The most famous work hovers above the altar in St. Andrew's Church: The Last Supper group has become known far beyond Hildesheim. The front seat is free. With this the viewer is taken into the Lord's Supper. The stand cross on the altar also comes from Henn. It depicts 11 scenes from the life of Jesus - the crucifixion in the center, the entry into Jerusalem below and the resurrection above. He also created the lectern with the fishing net symbol and the door in the west portal from the rescue of the people of Israel on the Red Sea .