Essen fountain of the century

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Century fountain in front of the Old Catholic Church of Peace

The Jahrhundertbrunnen is a historical fountain in Essen city ​​center from 1907, which is now a listed building.

history

Fountain still free-standing around 1910

The foundation stone of the fountain of the century was laid on August 3, 1902. The Munich sculptor Ulfert Janssen created it from shell limestone in the style of Adolf von Hildebrand .

The fountain commemorates 100 years of the unification of the city and monastery of Essen with the Kingdom of Prussia in 1802. Prussian troops took possession of the previously independent city and the then independent women's monastery and the Reichsabbey of Werden . This was done as compensation for the areas on the left bank of the Rhine that were lost to France in the coalition wars.

The colossal figure dominating in the center in the form of a seated worker with a mallet symbolizes the work as such. The inscription, designed by Hans Niemeyer , states: Ready to work - happy to rest . To the left of the worker, the Essen city coat of arms with the year 1802, and on the right the coat of arms of Prussia with the year 1902 indicate the actual reason the fountain was built.

The inauguration of the then free-standing fountain took place on August 3, 1907. In 1912 the architect of the neighboring Old Synagogue , Edmund Körner , started thinking about how the stand-alone fountain on what is now called Edmund-Körner-Platz could be relocated in order to give it a previously missing foreground. In the years 1914 to 1916, the Old Catholic Church of Peace with a raised forecourt was built behind the fountain in a south-easterly direction . The lining wall of the raised forecourt of the church still forms the well wall, which is now significantly widened in shell limestone.

In 1993 the fountain of the century was registered as a monument in the list of monuments of the city of Essen. In 2012 the edging of the fountain was renewed in connection with the redesign of Edmund-Körner-Platz.

Web links

Commons : Jahrhundertbrunnen Essen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klaus Wisotzky: From the imperial visit to the euro summit. 100 years of Essen history at a glance . Klartext, Essen 1996, ISBN 3-88474-497-6 .
  2. ↑ Excerpt from the list of monuments of the city of Essen (PDF; 388 kB)

Coordinates: 51 ° 27 '22.1 "  N , 7 ° 0' 59.2"  E