Marienbrunnen (Eupen)
.JPG)
The Marienbrunnen with the Marian column is a protected monument on the market square in Eupen . It was built in 1857 in neo-Gothic style by the Aachen sculptor Christian Mohr according to plans by the Cologne architect Vincenz Statz . As part of a thorough restoration in 1913, the fountain was redesigned by the Eupen sculptor Christian Stüttgen .
history
After Pope Pius IX. In 1854, when the Immaculate Conception of Mary became a dogma, a new statue of Mary enthroned on a column with a water fountain was commissioned on the initiative of Eupen Mayor Peter Becker and the population, which was inaugurated in 1857.
When the statue of Mary threatened to fall down about 25 years after it was built, the column was restored for the first time in 1882 at the suggestion of the Christian faction in the Eupen city council Constantia . At the same time it was moved a few meters east to the market square, where the closing ceremony of the Corpus Christi procession took place every year in Prussian times , and received three new fountain basins arranged in a circle from the workshop of Wilhelm Pohl from Aachen. In 1910 the city council considered building the newly planned war memorial in the immediate vicinity of the Marienbrunnen , but after long discussions they agreed on the Werthplatz for this property. Another extensive restoration of the Marian column took place in 1913, during which the old triple fountain system was removed and replaced by a new hexagonal fountain trough around the column, so that it is now in the center of the fountain to this day. On this occasion, a “Marien-Denkmal-Komitee” was founded, which advocated the care and preservation of the monument and continues to do so. On August 17, 1913, the newly designed monument was inaugurated with numerous civil and church associations and guests of honor and a large city festival.
The painter and graphic artist Alfred Holler , who lives in Eupen, valued the importance of the monument very much and on June 5, 1931 issued the first postage stamp in dark green with the motif of the Marienbrunnen in Eupen. It was valued at 2.45 francs and appeared in the Michel catalog with the number 304. Since around 1954, the city administration has had the monument complex decorated with plenty of flowers and, especially at Easter and Christmas, with Easter and Advent decorations. Finally, on March 25, 1983, the Marienbrunnen and Mariensäule were added to the Eupen monuments directory.
description
Mary figure
Middle part of the column
The 5.60 m high and narrow column with the sculpture of the Virgin, which was initially attached to a two-level substructure with three well basins arranged in a circle, was made of yellow sandstone. It consists of a hexagonal base with tracery , which merges into a cylindrical structure, on which the figure of Mary is placed on an attachment decorated with roses. Maria is standing on a ball with her hands folded and her posture and the folds correspond completely to the neo-Gothic style. On the cylindrical structure the text: "In honorem Beatae - Mariae sine labe concepta - CathoLICorVM DonIs ereCta" ("In honor of the blessed, without original sin, erected with the gifts of the Catholics") is engraved, which was later redrawn with gold paint; the chronogram shows the year 1857.
.JPG)
The new fountain trough from 1913, built on steps made of bluestone , is made of dolomite rock . It has a diameter of 3.50 m and the six side walls of the pool have a length of 1.79 m and a height of 0.96 m. With its massive shape, the fountain trough stands in an effective contrast to the slim and sleek column in its center.
The outside of the basin plates are provided with bas-reliefs , on the front southeast side of which there are plant tendrils with the coat of arms of the city of Eupen (jagged cross) and of the Archbishop of Cologne, Felix von Hartmann , (three flowers with ribbon and heart). On the south side are plant tendrils with two fish and on the southwest side plant tendrils with two animal legs (claws of birds of prey). The north-western plate on the back shows plant tendrils with three bands of inscriptions and three roses above. In the upper of these bands “Bless us Maria” is engraved, in the middle “Bürger Eupens” - “created this work” and in the lower one “19” - “13”.
literature
- The Eupener Mariensäule through the ages , in: Grenz-Echo from May 15 and May 22, 1976
Web links
- Entry and description on ostbelgienkulturerbe.be
- Leo Kever: Mariensäule on Eupener Marktplatz , report on the website of the Marienchor Eupen , the original published in Grenz-Echo on November 17th, 2012
Individual evidence
- ^ Biography Alfred Holler , Mariensäule postage stamp see under 1931
- ↑ Marian column with Advent decorations ( memento of the original from August 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Marian column - Hartmann coat of arms , on ostbelgien.net
Coordinates: 50 ° 37 '50.1 " N , 6 ° 1' 53.5" E