Karl Borromeo Fountain
The Karl-Borromäus-Brunnen is a listed fountain on Karl-Borromäus-Platz in Vienna's 3rd district , Landstrasse . It is a joint effort by the sculptor Josef Engelhart and the architect Jože Plečnik . It is considered one of the few examples of free sculptures from the Art Nouveau period.
history
On the square between Ungargasse and Landstraßer Hauptstrasse near the Rochuskirche , which was named the year before the fountain was unveiled and was previously called Gemeindeplatz, the municipal district office for the 3rd district and the district council are located at number 3 .
The fountain - like the Siebenbrunnen in the 5th district, Margareten - was donated on the occasion of the 60th birthday of Mayor Karl Lueger of the district. The name of the fountain is reminiscent of Count Karl Borromeo , canonized in 1610 , cardinal and archbishop of Milan and namesake of Karl Lueger.
In March 1904 Josef Engelhart , co-founder of the Vienna Secession , was commissioned by the Christian Social Councilor Prof. Josef Sturm to design the fountain on what was then the parish square. After the fountain committee was founded in September of the same year, the foundation stone was laid on October 24, 1904, Lueger's birthday. The marble and bronze fountain was unveiled on May 25, 1909.
Since Josef Engelhart had problems with the formal design of the fountain in the space intended for it, only 14 × 22 meters in size, he asked Jože Plečnik , Otto Wagner student , who was designing some buildings in Vienna at the time (including the Zacherlhaus in the city center), for help. Subsequently, Eduard Hauser (stone carving) and Hans Frömml (casting) were also involved.
From today's perspective, an action directed against the design of the Karl Borromäus fountain by Pastor Alfred Hoppe, at that time active in the accounting department of the Archdiocese of Vienna , seems rather curious . A few weeks after the solemn inauguration of the fountain by the Landstrasse pastor, Hoppe demanded that the naked putti be either clothed or removed. To enforce this, he collected signatures at events. He reported the pastor who had blessed the fountain to the archbishop.
layout
In a low round basin there is a three-pass-shaped pedestal on which three times five putti carry three water basins, which are connected by three groups of figures:
- Main page: Saint Charles Borromeo : the saint heals noblewoman, wife and youth
- left group: up the hearts
- Right group: Love above all , depiction of the plague in Milan
The water basins carried by the putti are decorated with reliefs of tendrils, newts and fish, which also serve as gargoyles. A triangular marble obelisk rises above it, which also forms the background for the groups of figures.
For design reasons, the fountain on the small forecourt of the district office was lowered a little below street level. The reason for the lowering lies in the different scales in which the putti and the groups of figures were made, which is why the fountain needs two different horizons.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ List of monuments in the 3rd district (PDF; 22 kB) of the Federal Monuments Office
- ↑ Entry on Art Nouveau in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
literature
- Felix Czeike : Historical Lexicon Vienna. Volume 1: A – Da. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-218-00543-4 .
- Felix Czeike: Viennese district culture guide. III. Landstraße , Jugend und Volk, Vienna 1984, ISBN 3-224-10611-5 , p. 19
- DEHIO Vienna - II. To IX. and XX. District . Anton Schroll & Co, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-7031-0680-8 .
- Josef Engelhart: A Viennese painter tells - My life and my models . Wilhelm Andermann Verlag, Vienna 1943.
Web links
- The Karl Borromeo Fountain. District Museum Landstrasse, archived from the original on October 14, 2013 ; accessed on January 3, 2018 .
Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 4.9 ″ N , 16 ° 23 ′ 20 ″ E