Georgsbrunnen (Eisenach)

At the Georgsbrunnen (2008)

The Georgsbrunnen - also "Gülden-Manns-Brunnen" - is a running fountain built in 1549 in the Wartburg city of Eisenach in Thuringia and a monument to the city's history. It commemorates the city saint, Saint George, and in the late Middle Ages was also a symbol of the city's market jurisdiction .

location

The Georgsbrunnen is located on the east side of the Eisenach market square .

history

In 1549, the sculptural sandstone figure of the knight and dragon slayer St. Georg was created in the Eisenach workshop of the then city architect Hans Leonhard . The knight, depicted in reduced proportions, wears a gilded armor from the 16th century and fights a lindworm or dragon at his feet . The figure's rider's armor was probably cast from tournament armor and corresponds in detail to templates from the period between 1550 and 1560. The rural population who poured into the city on market days may have introduced the name "Güldenmannsbrunnen", which was already in use in the Middle Ages.

St. George

The George figure served as an attachment on the fountain stick of the Eisenach market fountain. Over the years, the figure of St. George has changed location several times in Eisenach.

Originally the fountain stood in front of the east choir of the Georgenkirche, but there it was an obstacle to traffic. This first fountain is shown on a sketchy drawing and shows a circular fountain trough, about three meters in diameter, with the central fountain stick on which the George figure is placed is.

This first well was demolished in August 1789. The knight's figure was retained, however, it was moved to the newly built fountain and then stood north of the George Church, in the middle of the market square, until 1938. With this first change of location, the fountain trough was significantly enlarged, equipped with eight iron water pipes and provided with stone landings and four stairs. The "water fetchers" placed their buckets on these stone pedestals and pushed the movable discharge channels into the splashing water jet so that the water could flow into the containers they had brought with them. This was practical for use, but it greatly disturbed the overall artistic impression of the fountain.

In 1938, the city administration was put under pressure for political reasons: In order to enlarge the market square for the marches and parades, the fountain had to be moved in front of the west side of the George Church, and the Bach monument there had to give way. With this implementation, the newly manufactured fountain trough was again reduced to a harmonious size. Small dragons or lindworms were now attached to the base of the well, which spew their water in all directions.

The last transfer was made in connection with the Marketplace refurbishment in the years 1999 to 2001. Now the fountain was traditionally the Eisenacher Christmas market to be established Ferris wheel in the way.

In July 2002 strangers forcibly removed the gargoyles from the well and threw paving stones into the well trough. The repair of the gargoyles was finished in the same month. In the following years several attempts were made to steal the lance of the knight Georg.

Water supply

The well, designed as a tube well, initially received its water from three contained springs, the farthest source was in Marktbörner Feld - about three kilometers (as the crow flies) away. The water had to be channeled over a very fault-prone, wooden channel at the bridge on Amrischen Rasen over the river Hörsel and later over the municipal Mühlgraben and the Stadtgraben. From the south-eastern edge of the city (Bornstrasse) and from the Hainteich , water was also conducted via wooden pipes to the market square and the breweries.

With the construction of the city water pipes from 1870, the Georgsbrunnen lost its actual function as a water point.

Hanjörgfest

In the early 1990s, the Eisenach trade association established an old town festival under the name “Hanjörgfest”. The festival took place for the first time in May 1995 and was a great success. In order to distinguish itself from other fountain festivals and medieval markets, a unique selling proposition was sought for Eisenach . The fountain figure of the market fountain, which is already known on many publications and postcards, was chosen; it was also used as a signet . In the Middle Ages, many names of saints were changed, from the original name Georgios (Georg) the now equally popular Jürgen , Hans-Jürgen and Jörg were changed. Thus, in written records there are also dates on the name day of St. George in the version - on "Hanjörgstag". The Hanjörgfest is unique as a name and thus attracts greater attention to the city.

literature

Helmut Scherf: Hans Leonhard, the creator of the Golden Man Fountain (1549) . In: MFB Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Eisenach (ed.): StadtZeit. City journal with information from the Wartburg district. February issue. Druck- und Verlagshaus Frisch, Eisenach 1995, p. 21-24 .

Web links

Commons : St.-Georgsbrunnen (Eisenach) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Gerd Bergmann: Older history of Eisenach. From the beginning to the beginning of the 19th century . Ed .: Eisenacher History Association. Kröner, Eisenach 1994, ISBN 3-9803976-0-2 , p. 131-132, 149, 322 .

↑ (stv / rbr) WartburgkreisOnline: Marktbrunnen: City offers a reward. July 11, 2002, accessed on September 6, 2011 : “The gargoyles (dragon figures) on the fountain were forcibly torn off on Saturday between 8 am and 12 noon. In addition, a piece of the market pavement was torn out of the well and also thrown into the well. The well and the pavement have now been repaired. For this reason, the city has reported property damage. "

50.974833333333 10.320047222222Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ′ 29.4 ″ N , 10 ° 19 ′ 12.2 ″ E

[1] Gerd Bergmann: Older history of Eisenach. From the beginning to the beginning of the 19th century . Ed .: Eisenacher History Association. Kröner, Eisenach 1994, ISBN 3-9803976-0-2 , p. 131-132, 149, 322 .