Georgsbrunnen (Freiburg im Breisgau)

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Georgsbrunnen on Münsterplatz

The Georgsbrunnen in the south-west corner of the Münsterplatz in Freiburg is a reconstruction of the several times restored medieval fountain, which has stood here since the 14th century and which has probably been bearing the statue of the Freiburg city patron Saint Georg since the late 15th century .

Georgsbrunnen, entered in the Great Freiburg Plan by Gregorius Sickinger, Freiburg 1589

history

The location of Freiburg at the mouth of the water-rich Dreisamtal has always made it possible to supply the city with fresh water, which came from seeped rainwater and stream water. The gravel and alluvial soil acted as a natural soil filter, so that, unlike in other cities, it was not necessary to dig deep wells. For this reason, in Freiburg you will find the running fountain , not the shaft well , as a typical fountain design.

In contrast to the northwest side of Münsterplatz, whose fish fountain was only built in 1970, there was a drinking water fountain on the south side for residents as early as the 14th century. The supply of drinking water was provided by a system of wooden pipelines (spruce trunks drilled lengthways), called dykes , which were documented in 1317 and led from the well rooms in the "Mösle" below the Bromberg over the Schwabentor Bridge into the city. The Georgsbrunnen was one of the locations for public fountains already planned in the first town planning, as was the Fischbrunnen (originally in the city center) and the fountains at Oberlinden and Unterlinden .

Laufbrunnen including the Georgsbrunnen in the city plan
Georgsbrunnen, in the background the "Haus zum Ritter"
St. George as a knight on the defeated dragon

At the beginning of the 16th century, this first fountain system on Münsterplatz was replaced by a new one, which was in operation until the middle of the 19th century. At this time, complaints about the condition of the wells in Freiburg increased; In particular, the residents complained about poor well bowls, insufficient water flow and rotting well stems. This damage was caused in particular by placing vessels on the fountain bowls when fetching water, by grinding instruments and tools or washing food in the fountain, although this was prohibited under penalty.

The Georgsbrunnen is often drawn on historical cityscapes; One sees particularly clearly on the large Freiburg map (55 × 105 cm) by Gregorius Sickinger (1589) west of the cathedral tower the Georgsbrunnen with the fountain trough and two pipes as well as the fountain stick with the standing figure.

The renovation of the fountain in 1845 coincided with a time when most of Freiburg's fountains were being redesigned, as the water supply system was converted from wooden dykes to cast iron pipes and a central collecting tank (instead of many inaccessible “well rooms”) between 1837 and 1843 wanted to. The carpenter and wood sculptor Franz Sales Glänz (1810–1855) designed a fountain made by the stonemason Karl Widmann, which had an octagonal water bowl and an ornate fountain stick adorned by branches . This fountain was initially called "Leopoldsbrunnen" in honor of Grand Duke Leopold , who had come to Freiburg for the inauguration of the train station in 1845 and inaugurated the new fountain with his name on Münsterplatz. The so-called Leopoldsbrunnen from 1845 was criticized shortly after its construction as "not good and its intentions not corresponding".

Because the fountain bowl of the Georgsbrunnen had become brittle after 60 years of operation due to the too soft red sandstone used in the 19th century and had made the fountain stem leaky, the Freiburg architect Carl Anton Meckel (1875–1938) designed a new fountain as a reconstruction in 1935 of the old Georgsbrunnen from the beginning of the 16th century. Meckel was able to use the old parts kept in the Augustinian Museum and rely on a lithograph from 1826 in the possession of the municipal collection . The remaining parts of the well were completed and a new shell was hewn, using the permanent Maintäler shell limestone - even then, Meckel recognized the “unhealthy air conditions in the modern city”. On the column, Carl Anton Meckel left his stonemason's mark , which he had acquired as a signature based on the example of medieval builders .

description

The fountain shaft is formed by four ribs with hollow flutes in between . They merge into canopies that are wreathed with finials. The pinnacle in the middle bears a gilded copy of the knight Georg made by the sculptor Wilhelm von Kittlitz. Since then the fountain has four water outlets decorated with blacksmiths.

The dedication of this fountain, which is one of the oldest Freiburg drinking water fountains, to the city patron St. George is related to the custom, which emerged in the Middle Ages, that the citizens of a city have chosen a patron saint for their church in addition to the patronage of a patron saint for their church To place the city under his special protection. According to the ideas of the time, this city patron should also take on the task of supporting the struggle of the commune for God-willed independence from a city lord or bishop. For Freiburg, it seems reasonable to assume that the city, after being ransomed in 1368 by the rule of the Freiburg Count Egino III. has created its own banner and a city ​​coat of arms , namely the red longitudinal cross in the white field, in the language of heraldry "a continuous red cross in silver", which certainly does not coincide with the coat of arms of the knight Georg , which has been handed down in iconography . It has also been proven that the Freiburg knighthood, who fought at Sempach at Sempach on the side of the Habsburg army at high cost against the Confederates, lost their municipal banner with the red cross on a white field and that this Freiburg banner is now kept in the Franciscan Church in Lucerne .

  • City patron Saint George

  • Water outlet with forge decoration

  • Stonemason's mark by CA Meckel on the fountain column from 1935

  • Stonemason's mark on the fountain surround from 1935

  • Destruction of the old town on November 27, 1944 by the Royal Air Force, aerial photo 1945

Others

During the air raid by the Royal Air Force on Freiburg on November 27, 1944 ( Operation Tigerfish ), the Georgsbrunnen was essentially undamaged, although almost the entire old town had been destroyed by explosive bombs and incendiary bombs.

literature

  • Karl Schuster: The Georgsbrunnen on the Münsterplatz . In: Freiburger Münsterblätter 8 (1912), p. 48.
  • Peter Paul Albert : The St. Georgsbrunnen on the Münsterplatz . In: Freiburger Münsterblätter 13 (1917).
  • Rosemarie Beck / Roland Meinig: Fountain in Freiburg . Rombach Verlag, Freiburg 1991, pp. 26-27.

Web links

Commons : Georgsbrunnen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Beck, Rosemarie, Meinig, Roland: Brunnen in Freiburg . 1st edition. Rombach Verlag, Freiburg 1991, p. 26-27 .
  2. ^ Hans Georg Wehrens: Freiburg im Breisgau 1504 - 1803. Woodcuts and copper engravings. Herder Verlag, Freiburg 2004, pp. 125ff. with well plan and other evidence
  3. ^ Hans Georg Wehrens: The city patron of Freiburg im Breisgau . Promo Verlag, Freiburg 2007, p. 6ff. and 21d.
  4. ^ Hans Georg Wehrens: The city patron of Freiburg im Breisgau . In: Journal of the Breisgau History Association “Schau-ins-Land” , No. 126 (2007 annual issue), p. 39ff. with bibliographical references and addendum in No. 130 (2011 annual), pp. 67–69

Coordinates: 47 ° 59 ′ 43.5 ″  N , 7 ° 51 ′ 6.4 ″  E