Lindworm Fountain (Klagenfurt)
The Lindwurmbrunnen on the Neuer Platz in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee from the 16th century represents the landmark and its heraldic animal , a Lindworm .
history
The fountain was commissioned by the city in 1583 on the orders of the Carinthian estates . The work has long been ascribed to Ulrich and Andreas Vogelsang, but it is likely from an anonymous master. The material used was chlorite slate from nearby Kreuzbergl , which was also used in the country house . The dragon was carved from a single block. The monumental sculpture shows the animal with its mouth open, water flowing out of it, and its wings attached. The armor looks punched, its tail is artfully curved. The threatening nature of the animal is depicted in a striking design language. The style can be interpreted both Mannerist and Romanesque .
The completed work, weighing 6 tons, is said to have been transported to Neue Platz in 1593 by 300 young men dressed in white. Originally the Lindwurm stood with its head to the north. He did not have a well, although it was planned from the start. The fountain was only added in 1624, when it was also set up in an east-west direction. In 1634 the fountain was given a wrought-iron grille with flowers and coats of arms in the late Renaissance style by Georg Tillitz. On the base of the monument are the coats of arms of the five ordained persons, one each for the burgrave and the general taker, on the western front side is the Carinthian coat of arms , surmounted by an obelisk . In the past, bars and coats of arms were painted in color.
In 1636 the Hercules statue by the Gurk court sculptor Michael Hönel became part of the ensemble. The club-swinging Hercules reduces the heraldic effect of the fountain, but is reminiscent of the Klagenfurt founding legend. The lindworm is said to have been slain by courageous men in the area of the Carinthian state capital, which made the area safe and colonizable.
In 1972 the Lindwurmbrunnen was moved to its present location to the west as part of the construction of an underground car park under Neuer Platz. From 1997 a general renovation of the Lindwurm and Hercules figure in Vienna took place, which lasted three years. In 2013 another partial renovation was necessary after cracks appeared in the tail of the dragon. From April 2017 a new renovation was started: joints in the pedestal and small cracks in the figures are cemented, parts made of chlorite slate from Kreuzbergl are added; Monumentfreunde Österreich bears 20,000 euros of costs of 50,000 euros.
Lindwurmbrunnen and New Town Hall
Wood engraving around 1880
Detail: Lindwurm and Hercules
Detail: coat of arms of Carinthia
literature
- Barbara Kienzl , Wilhelm Deuer: Renaissance in Carinthia . Carinthia Verlag, Klagenfurt 1996, p. 56 ff. ISBN 3-85378-438-0
- Siegfried Hartwagner: Klagenfurt City (= Austrian Art Monograph , Volume X). Verlag St. Peter, Salzburg, p. 164 f. (Reprinted in 1994, without ISBN)
Web links
Coordinates: 46 ° 37 ′ 26.4 " N , 14 ° 18 ′ 27.7" E
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Lindworm Legend. Retrieved August 7, 2016 .
- ↑ Lindwurm renovation in Klagenfurt completed. In: DiePresse.com. July 11, 2013, accessed February 22, 2018 .
- ↑ The Lindwurm gets a facelift orf.at, April 24, 2017, accessed April 24, 2017.