Marktfontaine (Bonn)

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Marktfontaine (2016)

The Marktfontaine is a fountain on Bonn's market square in front of the old town hall . It stands as a monument under monument protection .

An obelisk stretches towards the sky from a small water basin , which was previously crowned by an electoral hat (the crown of the Cologne electors ). This Kurhut was knocked down by Napoleon's soldiers during the French occupation and was not renewed later by those responsible in Bonn. The Marktfontaine kept its current shape and is simply called the “Obelisk” by many Bonn residents because of its appearance.

history

The Marktfontaine was built in 1777 on the orders of Elector Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels . It had to be financed by the citizens of Bonn, who may not have been happy about this burden. The hymn of praise to the prince, which adorns the side of the obelisk, once in Latin and once in German, has an ironic note when it says: “You dig your memorial into our hearts yourself…” However, it is not known whether the self-confident ruler noticed this fact.

In 2013 the structure was extensively renovated.

Representation of the Roman numeral

The spelling of the Roman year (1777) is of particular interest. Here the usual “M” was not chosen for the number thousand, but a simplified form of the Greek letter Phi. A fact that puzzles many viewers:

The Romans adapted the Greek alphabet for their language , but had no equivalent for the letters Chi , Psi and Phi . That made them use these letters for their numbers. Chi (X) for 10, halved (V) for 5; Psi (modified to L) for 50; Phi (a circle that is halved by a vertical line, φ), for 1000, the "D", which forms the second half, stands for 500. The "M" for mille passum (thousand steps) was used by the Roman army used and represents the spelling of the number 1000 that is common today.

  • inscription

  • Year number

  • View of the market with fountain, around 1900

Sources and literature

Web links

Commons : Marktfontaine (Bonn)  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of monuments of the city of Bonn (as of March 15, 2019), p. 39, number A 779
  2. ↑ The cornerstone is back in the obelisk . General-Anzeiger Bonn. July 14, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2017.

Coordinates: 50 ° 44 ′ 7.43 "  N , 7 ° 6 ′ 7.64"  E