Jubilee fountain (Wuppertal)
The Jubilee Fountain (also known as Neptune Fountain ) is located on the northeast side of Neumarkt , one of the most important inner-city squares in Wuppertal 's Elberfeld district .
It was donated in 1895 by the Elberfeld Beautification Association on the occasion of its 25th anniversary - hence the “Jubilee Fountain”. It was decided that it will be located in front of the Elberfeld town hall . Construction of the town hall also began in 1895. The city fathers announced the exact location in 1900 on the axis of Friedrichstrasse and near the main entrance to the town hall.
The 11.5 meter high fountain made of red Main sandstone was created 1900–1901 by the Düsseldorf sculptor Leo Müsch (1846–1911) and is a replica of the Neptune Fountain (1767–1768) on Domplatz in Trento, Italy .
The multi-curved basin with a diameter of eight meters is located on a step substructure. The sea god , mermaids and sea monsters are depicted here . A three-meter high Neptune and accessories rises on a three-storey structure . The structure is lively with tritons , putti and dolphins .
A bronze cartouche on the edge of the pool bears the inscription :
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Even before the inauguration , on September 25, 1901, the protective covering of the fountain was removed to make the remaining work easier. The moralists were indignant about the revealing depiction of Neptune in the form of the anatomically correct modeled pubic region - for them the figures were all too masculine. The indignation of church circles knew no bounds, protests were called and resolutions were drawn up. The Bible was quoted by the opponents as well as the defenders of the well. In this heated debate, self-proclaimed people's educators made short work of them and overnight knocked off outstanding parts of two corner figures of the fountain and directed themselves “against the symbols of masculinity”, as the local press stated at the time. Walter Bloem , writer from Elberfeld, wrote in verse against the unknown perpetrator: "He who creates and maintains the world, chops off and cowardly puts it in the corner". Bloem's drama in four acts The jubilee fountain prompted the pastor, who had once trusted Bloem, to propose that he quit the church.
In the city council meeting on October 1st, the Neptune issue was part of the meeting, it was decided that Neptune should become a real man again. But on October 20, the center protested the exposure at a meeting from which the ladies were complimented - because delicate matters might come up. In addition to the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church also protested against the monument, and sometimes thousands of people stood around the offensive fountain.
On October 28th, the anniversary fountain was opened to the public without any ceremony. The city council met again on October 29th to debate him. August Freiherr von der Heydt as chairman of the beautification association was particularly badly attacked. The initiator of the 40,000 monetary unit gift to the city was involved in the public moral debate together with his wife Selma von der Heydt.For example, Selma had a controversial Heinrich Heine monument erected in Küllenhahn in 1893 , which was now up for debate again in 1901. Von der Heydt finally agreed to have the offensive body parts replaced with acanthus leaves . Nevertheless, the fights to demolish the well continued.
The question of how morality and art can find each other was initially postponed to the next city council meeting and should then be finally clarified on February 4th. The proposal was accepted by 17 votes against 13 to ...
"... to be left in its current form, considering that any change to be made to one side or the other could cause offense and cause renewed agitation"
It stayed that way. The chipped symbols for Neptune's masculinity were later repaired and the scars can still be seen today.
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As an outstanding example of the sculptural art of historicism , the fountain was entered on March 30, 2000 in the list of monuments of the city of Wuppertal. There was a need for renovation: Vandalism and frost breakouts had left their mark. The city did not have the money for a major renovation, so it took until July 2013 that the renovation could be tackled with the help of private donors. The main work on the actual well could be completed by April 18, 2014; Work on the area around the well is still pending.
See also
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- ^ Wolfgang Stock: Wuppertal street names. Thales Verlag, Essen-Werden 2002, ISBN 3-88908-481-8 .
- ^ Klaus Pfeffer: Secular buildings of the 19th century in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. Society for book printing, Neuss 1979, ISBN 3-88094-286-2 .
- ↑ Ruth Meyer-Kahrweg : Monuments, fountains and sculptures in Wuppertal. Born-Verlag, Wuppertal 1991, ISBN 3-87093-057-8 .
- ↑ quoted from Klaus Goebel : Historische Schauplätze in Wuppertal, Solingen and Remscheid (= contributions to the preservation of monuments and townscapes of the Wuppertal 9). 2nd Edition. Born, Wuppertal 1992, ISBN 3-87093-043-8 , p. 54; also: Heinz Theodor Jüchter: Discover Wuppertal. 17 tours. Klartext, Essen 2001, ISBN 3-89861-010-1 , p. 55.
- ^ Elberfeld district: Jubilee fountain ( memento from December 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) by Wolfgang Mondorf
- ↑ Caroline Seidel: Neptune Fountain: Soon the view will be free again. In: Westdeutsche Zeitung (Online), March 31, 2014.
Web links
- Entry in the Wuppertal monument list
Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ′ 31.7 ″ N , 7 ° 8 ′ 48.2 ″ E