Fish fountain (Freiburg im Breisgau)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fish fountain at its current location in front of the Kornhaus (2010)
The fountain in 1898 at its second location in front of Münstergasse
Baden postage stamp from 1949 with the fish fountain
Dangling of the tram tracks around the former fish fountain (until 2017)
The tracks were straightened in 2017 and the former bulge can still be seen along the course of the Bächle
Fish fountain at the current location (detail)

The fish fountain , which today stands in the northwest corner of Münsterplatz in front of the Kornhaus , is the oldest and most magnificent fountain in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau .

history

The fish fountain was on the site of the first time in 1446 mentioned fountain 1483 of the otherwise not known Steinmetz Hans von Basel at the intersection ▼ the salt road with today's Kaiser-Joseph-Straße built, the then Big Gass said. At this intersection, the historical routes from north to south and from east to west met and formed the center of the city. This fountain was one of the locations of the public fountains for drinking water already considered in the town planning, as well as the Georgsbrunnen on the Münsterplatz and the fountains at Oberlinden and Unterlinden.

The fish fountain in the town center was used as a market fountain during the daily market hours and was considered a symbol of the town's market sovereignty , which had been conferred in 1120 by Duke Konrad I (Zähringen) . The fountain was also used to sell fish: the fish offered for sale were placed in the fountain trough by the traders.

In 1616 the fountain received the fountain figures created by Bertram von Berg, probably as a replacement for the original sculptures . The color version came from the painter Mathias Kobolt. The ironwork originated in the 18th century.

In 1806, the Fischbrunnen at the confluence of Münstergasse and Kaiserstraße ▼ was relocated for the first time in order to create a new Bertoldsbrunnen at the previous location in homage to Karl Friedrich Grand Duke of Baden with the larger than life figure of Bertold III. von Zähringen , his ancestor, to be able to build.

In 1851 a tinny Fortuna was removed, which had served as a wind vane and replaced a lost closing flower. In place of the tin figure, the fish fountain was given a new finial .

The fountain trough was renewed in 1869 and then reduced in size when the tram was built in 1901 so that the rails could be guided around the fountain. Until 2017, the tram tracks therefore made a small detour around the previous location. The course of the Freiburger Bächle on the western side of the street is reminiscent of this arch .

The architectural parts of the fountain were replaced by copies in 1914 and the originals were kept in the Münsterbauhütte ; the middle part went to the Augustinian Museum in 1951 . On November 23, 1938, the fish fountain was completely dismantled to make room for the increasing car traffic; the fountain parts were stored in the courtyard of the historic department store .

On the occasion of the 850th anniversary of the city of Freiburg in 1970, it was decided to rebuild the fish fountain at its current location ▼ in the northwest corner of the Münsterplatz in front of the Kornhaus ▼ as a true-to-scale copy. He received a new fountain trough designed by the minster master craftsman Sepp Jakob . The statuettes are true copies of the originals kept in the Augustinian Museum.

As a reminder, it should be noted that the fish fountain was chosen to be the motif of a postage stamp from the French occupation zone of Baden with a value of 30 + 50 Pfenning in 1949, which was first issued on March 24, 1949. The stamp was part of a block of four definitive stamps from the series Reconstruction of the City of Freiburg im Breisgau . The other three stamps show the Kornhaus (4 + 16 Pfenning), the Freiburg cathedral (10 + 20 Pfenning) and a trumpet angel from the cathedral tower (20 + 30 Pfenning).

description

In the eight-sided fountain trough stands a mighty fountain stick decorated with crabs , around which four statuettes are grouped one above the other in canopies decorated with tracery , namely: In the lower part the Mother of God with child as patroness of the cathedral, next to it the Freiburg city patron Georg (with the Freiburg coat of arms ) and Lambert von Lüttich (in the bishop's robe ) as well as a knight in armor with the Austrian shield , probably Archduke Leopold III. von Habsburg (1351-1386), the Upper Austrian sovereign, to whom Freiburg was also subordinate from 1368.

  • Statues related to Freiburg

  • Mary with child on the crescent moon as patroness of the cathedral

  • City patron Georg as a knight with the dragon and the city coat of arms

  • City patron Lambert von Lüttich (around 635–705) in bishop's robe

  • Leopold III. von Habsburg (1351–1386) in armor with the Austrian shield

Against the occasional view that this figure in knight armor is Margrave Leopold III. from the house of the Babenbergs (1073–1136), speaks the fact that this margrave is always depicted as a peace-loving ruler in hermelin-adorned princely costume and margrave hat as well as with the five eagles of the old Austrian coat of arms or as the founder of a monastery with a church model, but never in knightly armor like this the iconography for Leopold III. von Habsburg corresponds; even the binding shield only fits the Habsburg and not the Babenberger. For a representation of Leopold III. von Habsburg also speaks of his particularly close relationship with Freiburg, which in 1368 was ransomed by the Freiburg Count Egino III. had submitted to the rule of the House of Habsburg . Leopold III. von Habsburg fought against the Confederates in 1386 with the support of the Freiburg knighthood in the battle of Sempach and fell in this battle, together with his standard bearer , the Freiburg knight Martin Malterer (see the monument on the Schwabentor Bridge ).

  • Margrave Leopold III. Babenberger, in front of Klosterneuburg (Babenberger family tree, around 1490)

  • Archduke Leopold III. von Habsburg in armor and with a shield in the battle chapel Sempach , behind him Johann Freiherr von Ochsenstein

  • Archduke Leopold III. von Habsburg in armor and with a binding shield (Chronicle of the Habsburgs, the Zähringer and the city of Freiburg i. Br., 1798)

  • The Freiburg knight Martin Malterer with the Freiburg banner next to the dying Archduke Leopold III. of Habsburg. Monument from 1897, Schwabentorbrücke

When the fountain figures were created in the late 15th century (and renewed in 1616), the two city patrons Georg and Lambert were first known, who were to be depicted on the market fountain alongside Maria as the patroness of the Freiburg Minster. At that time it was obvious that Archduke Leopold III , who died in the 14th century near Sempach , was only 36 years old. von Habsburg as the fourth protector of Freiburg. Finally, the argument that Babenberger Leopold III. If it is a saint and only saints are represented on the fountain, this is refuted by the reference that his canonization did not take place until 1485, i.e. a few years after the redesign of the fountain figures by the stonemason Hans von Basel, who probably in turn addressed the Model of the figures of the fountain from 1446 was bound.

In the upper half are the four Latin church fathers Jerome (with the lion), Pope Gregory the Great (with tiara ), Ambrosius of Milan (with crosier and book) and Augustine of Hippo (with crosier and heart in hand). A finial forms the end of the well.

  • Church fathers

  • Jerome (with the lion)

  • Pope Gregory the Great (with tiara)

  • Ambrose of Milan (with crosier and book)

  • Augustine of Hippo (in bishop's robe with heart in hand)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hans Georg Wehrens: Freiburg im Breisgau 1504 - 1803. Woodcuts and copper engravings. Herder, Freiburg 2004, p. 126f. with reference to Klaus Humpert / Martin Schenk: Discovery of medieval urban planning - The end of the myth of the "grown city" . Stuttgart 2001, p. 94ff.
  2. ↑ Peter Kalchthaler: Freiburg and its buildings. An art-historical city tour . Promo Verlag, Freiburg 2006, p. 221
  3. ↑ In 1904 the Freiburgers also referred to the new Bertoldsbrunnen as the Fischbrunnen, Freiburger Stadtanzeiger in: Freiburger Zeitung of November 6, 1904 (second sheet) ( digitized version )
  4. ^ Redevelopment of the northern Kaiser-Joseph-Straße. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 12, 2017 ; accessed on August 7, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Michel catalog no. 41A (French zone of occupation, Baden)
  6. ^ Hans Georg Wehrens: The city patron of Freiburg im Breisgau . Promo Verlag, Freiburg 2007, p. 19ff.
  7. ↑ Richard von Kralik: The St. Leopold, Margrave of Austria . Kempten / Munich 1904, p. 123 with illustrations
  8. ^ Hans Georg Wehrens: The city patron of Freiburg im Breisgau . In: Journal of the Breisgau history association “Schau-ins-Land” 126, 2007, p. 48f. ( Dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de ) with addendum 130, 2011, p. 67–69; Hans Georg Wehrens: The city patron of Freiburg im Breisgau . Promo Verlag, Freiburg 2007, pp. 20f.
  9. ↑ Peter Kalchthaler / Walter Preker (ed.): Freiburg Biographies . Promo Verlag, Freiburg 2002, p. 36f.

Web links

Commons : Fischbrunnen (Freiburg)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files