Markgrafenbrunnen (Bayreuth)
| Margrave fountain | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| place | Bayreuth |
| country |
 Germany
|
| use | Jewelry and glorification |
| construction time | 1699-1705 |
| architect | Elias Räntz |
| Architectural style | Baroque |
| Technical specifications | |
| height | 5 m |
| diameter | 9 m |
| Floor space | 150 m² |
| Floors | three (basin, allegories, horse with rider) |
| Building material | Sandstone |
| Coordinates | |
| location | Coordinates: 49 ° 56 ′ 31.5 " N , 11 ° 34 ′ 37.2" E 49 ° 56 ′ 31.5 " N , 11 ° 34 ′ 37.2" E |
The Margrave Fountain in Bayreuth , inaugurated in 1705, shows an equestrian statue of Margrave Christian Ernst as the central figure . It is surrounded by four groups of figures, which symbolize the rivers that arise in the Fichtel Mountains . The fountain is located on Residenzplatz in Bayreuth , flanked on both sides by lawns with flowerbeds in the Baroque style.
History of origin
With this fountain, Margrave Christian Ernst erected a memorial for his participation in the liberation of Vienna from the siege by the Turks in 1683 . He, who is said to have "conquered a Turkish horse tail with his own hands", came back from the campaign with rich booty and the title of Imperial General of the Cavalry .
The sculptor Elias Räntz made the ornamental fountain 1699–1705 on behalf of Margrave Christian Ernst. When it was inaugurated, the facility stood in the outer courtyard of the Old Palace and in 1748 was moved to the riding arena , a vacant space west of the courtyard garden at the gates of the city. The New Palace , which today forms the background of the fountain, was built later. During the implementation of the fountain, the original orientation of the figures was not taken into account, so that their position no longer corresponds to the cardinal points they symbolize.
The fountain as a whole
The fountain with its octagonal basin (four corners are slightly arched inwards) is raised and can be reached via four steps on all sides. It is designed symmetrically: at street level, the fountain foundation is around 12.5 m wide and 12.5 m long, the actual water basin is 9 × 9 m in size. The ensemble of figures is located in the pool surrounded by water: the symbol figures each stand on an area of around 2.75 m². They surround the equestrian monument, the pedestal of which is around 1.8 m wide and 2.5 m long. All figures of the jewelry fountain are made larger than life. Sandstone was used as the material for the basin and the sculptures . The work of art is a protected cultural monument .
Main character
Margrave Christian Ernst is shown sitting on his horse in splendid armor, he has a sword belted on him and he is holding a marshal's baton in his right hand . The margrave rides over a Turk whose face is disfigured by pain. On the other side of the horse is the margrave's gnome , Johann Tramm from Stammbach , who is said to have not been much taller than two feet and is holding a sign with the inscription "PIETAS AD OMNIA UTILIS" ( Piety is useful for all things ). Horse and rider are estimated to be five meters high. Originally the statues of the margrave and the chamber dwarf were gilded.
Elias Räntz used a Nuremberg copper engraving from the Paul Fürst Erben publishing company as a template, showing Margrave Christian Ernst sitting on a rearing horse. The practical importance of the ridden Turk and the chamber dwarf is that they serve to support the equestrian figure. The horse's front hooves do not float in the air, which would have caused problems with the sandstone used.
The grandfather of Margrave Christian Ernst, Margrave Christian , who was immortalized in stone and can be seen on the Plassenburg in Kulmbach above a splendid gate on a rearing horse served as a model.
Art connoisseurs also see a resemblance to the equestrian statue in the Erlanger Hofgarten, which was also created by Elias Räntz.
Banner
The equestrian figure is surrounded by a banner: “IPSO SERENISS NATAL D. 27. IV L. AN. AET. 56 ” , which indicates a completion for the margrave's 56th birthday. Presumably, however, only the main character was finished at this point. The slogan also reads: “PR I N CI PIS I S BON V S EST FONS, E X Q V O Q V AT V OR AQ V AE ORB I S A D PARTES MOEN V S, NABA, SA L A, EGRA R VV NT “ (This is the splendid Fürstenbrunnen from which the rivers Main, Naab, Saale and Eger flow to the four regions of the sky).
The text of the banner is a chronogram : The letters shown here in bold are larger on the fountain than the other letters in the text. If you read them as Roman numerals and add their sum, you get the year of completion of the system, namely 1705.
The lower groups of figures: four rivers - four continents
In the lower part of the statue there are four groups of figures, each formed by a person sitting on a water-spouting animal or mythical creature. The water currents symbolize the four rivers that arise in the Fichtel Mountains . Their main directions of flow corresponded to the four cardinal directions when they were first set up. A group of figures is assigned to each river. This symbolizes the continent which, as seen from the Fichtel Mountains, lies in the corresponding direction. The jewelry plant is illuminated at night.
literature
- August Gebeßler : City and District of Bayreuth . In: The art monuments of Bavaria , brief inventories. VI. Tape. Deutscher Kunstverlag , Munich 1959, p. 73.
- Karl Sitzmann : The Bayreuth court sculptor Elias Räntz, on the 300th anniversary of his birthday on August 21, 1649. Bayreuth 1949, OCLC 162963229 .
- Manfred Mayer, Hubert Holzmann (ed.): Franconian history, The Margraves of Ansbach-Bayreuth and their ancestors, the Burgraves of Nuremberg, history of the origins of the House of Hohenzollern. CEJ Druckhaus Mayer Verlag, Erlangen-Jena 2002, ISBN 3-925978-72-0 .
- Franz Herrmann (Hrsg.): The margrave booklet . 1902, OCLC 250262473 . (revised new version)
Web links
- The Margrave Fountain at the New Palace at markgrafenkultur.de
- Markgrafenbrunnen in Bayreuth at bayern-fichtelgebirge.de
- The Markgrafenbüchlein , pages 45–46 at geschichte.kees-digital.de
- Markgrafenbrunnen at zum.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eva-Maria Bast, Heike Thissen: Bayreuth Secrets . 1st edition. Bast Medien Service, Überlingen 2014, ISBN 978-3-9816796-1-8 , p. 112 ff .
- ↑ All dimensions have been determined with the Google Earth tool .
- ^ K. Sitzmann: The Bayreuth wood sculptor Elias Räntz. In: Archive for the history of Upper Franconia. Volume 35, first issue, Bayreuth 1949.
- ↑ Markgrafenbrunnen at night on www.fotocommunity, accessed on May 26, 2019.