Power at sea

The Power to the Sea fountain on the facade of the Michaelertrakt (2016)

The power of the sea is a monumental wall fountain on the facade of the Michaelertrakt of the Hofburg at Michaelerplatz in the 1st district of Vienna Inner City . The fountain was built by the sculptor Rudolf Weyr from 1893 , unveiled in 1895 and is a listed building . On the opposite side of Michaelerplatz is the fountain Macht zu Lande .

description

The main character is an allegorical representation of Austria standing on a ship's bow. The lettering WEYR 1895 can be found on the right side of the bow of the ship as seen by the observer . A rock architecture with a representation of the sea god Neptune , a fallen giant and a sea monster rises on the fountain basin .

According to Wiener Zeitung , the fountain figure Neptune is said to show the portrait of Friedrich Uhl , editor-in-chief of the Wiener Zeitung. One of Friedrich Uhl's two daughters, the writer Marie Weyr (1864–1903), was married to the sculptor Rudolf Weyr. According to the engraver Hans Ranzoni the Younger , his grandfather Emerich Ranzoni (1823–1898) is said to have modeled the Neptune figure.

The fountain basin is made of red granite from Uddevalla , Sweden , Bohemian granite was used for the paving, Lindabrunn conglomerate for the rocks and Lasa marble for the figures. A restoration was carried out from July 2001 to May 2003. In addition to historical photographs, the plaster models kept in the Hofburg's basement depot were used as templates to supplement the figural elements.