Faunbrunnen (Magdeburg)

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Faunbrunnen - view from the north
Faun fountain in 1986 - view from the east
Postage stamp from the GDR with the fountain as a motif

The Faunbrunnen , also called Faunenbrunnen or Teufelsbrunnen , is a fountain in Magdeburg's old town .

history

The fountain in Leiterstrasse was created by the Magdeburg sculptor Heinrich Apel and forms the center of a square-like extension of the pedestrianized street. Apel started working on the artwork in 1976. The first working title was Ein Kessel Buntes and alluded to the GDR television entertainment program of the same name . The well was poured in the course of the considerably delayed completion of the pedestrian zone, which had been redesigned with GDR prefabricated buildings , in 1986 in the goods section of the Rostock diesel engine plant . The figures were created in the art and bell foundry Lauchhammer . The assembly was carried out by the construction and assembly combine Magdeburg. The inauguration of the fountain took place with a fountain festival in mid-June 1986. In 1989 the fountain was shown on a GDR postage stamp.

layout

The fountain, designed as a large bronze pot , stands on a circular pedestal made of bricks with several steps. The bronze kettle has a circumference of 3.2 meters and bears the coat of arms of the city of Magdeburg on its east side. A water gutter runs around the bronze pot. The many figures that populate the pedestal on the edge of the pot or act out of the pot are remarkable. Two boys fighting with one another, two women drying off each other, a woman on a stool and a young man looking away from her are placed on the pedestal as if by chance. In addition to the pair of women, who like all figures are shown naked, there is also a cat and a turtle. A dog urinates on the outside of the pot. On the edge of the pot sit various nonsense fauns , which also serve as gargoyles and spit down from the edge of the pot without the surrounding figures noticing. The fauns are represented as a hybrid of goats and humans. Also sirens , snake, fish and goat are represented. A total of 22 figures are placed on the rim of the cauldron. A ladder leads from the platform to the edge of the pot. A faun with a water bucket stands on the ladder. It forms a connection between the pot and its surroundings. The same applies to a naked man with his underpants pulled down, who falls headlong into the pot and is interpreted as a possible victim of the sirens.

A large stele rises up in the middle of the pot . A snake is winding around her. A snail and a lizard can also be found there. On top of the stele sit two turtling pigeons.

The possibilities of interpretation of the humorous work of art are manifold, whereby love and sexuality symbolized by turtling pigeons, fauns, sirens and naked people should be given special importance. The fountain refers to the medieval city fountains and life in and with them.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hornemann, From So Far Her Up Here , Article No. 3
  2. ^ Hans Gottschalk in Magdeburg Architecture and Urban Development , Janos Stekovics publishing house Halle an der Saal 2001, ISBN 3-929330-33-4 , page 73

Coordinates: 52 ° 7 ′ 41.1 ″  N , 11 ° 37 ′ 58.3 ″  E