French Fountain (Merseburg)
The French Fountain is a memorial in Merseburg and commemorates the Battle of Roßbach . It is located in Domstraße at the passage to Green Street between the former vicaria houses Curia vicariae trium regum and Curia Philippi et Jacobi . In its current form, the fountain was designed by Laurita Heye in 1928 . Originally known under the name Capitulsbrunnen , the name Franzosen-Brunnen became popular after a French officer was found drowned in it in 1757.
history
A month after prisoners of war from the Battle of Roßbach were also housed in Merseburg, a man was found dead in the well. The Cathedral Freedom Court and the city commandant of Bredow were notified. The corpse was removed from the well and placed in the vault near the Crooked Gate . The body was viewed the next morning. The dead man was identified by his uniform as an officer of the Piedmont Regiment (white outfit with black markings). The land physicist Dr. Bartholomaei and the regimental doctor Karl Bürker found no external injuries. The section proved that the officer had drowned and had been in the water for a long time. The French captain de Rachais called in identified the dead man as Lieutenant d'Arivelle ( Aribel ), who had been missing since November 10 or 11.
According to medical reports, it was assumed that the officer jumped into the well either out of desperation and fear or because of depression ( PTSD ) and thus his life was shortened. Others say he tried to hide in it and then had an accident.
The incident was also reported to the consistory and the government, which ordered that the body be buried in the town churchyard.
From what was found on the drowned man, a silver seal (engraved seal) was given to the captain de Rachais. The rest was sold to cover the costs of the section.
The contaminated well was pumped out by order of the cathedral chapter, and two Dresden measure of salt were poured into it for disinfection .
literature
- Horst Wingrich: The historical water supply of Merseburg . Sax-Verlag, Markkleeberg 2012, ISBN 3-867-29108-X .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Franzosenbrunnen on Merseburg in the picture. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
Coordinates: 51 ° 21 '26.34 " N , 11 ° 59' 58.65" O