Merkur Fountain (Augsburg)
The Merkurbrunnen is next to the Augustusbrunnen and Herkulesbrunnen one of the three magnificent fountains in Augsburg .
location
The Merkurbrunnen is located in Maximilianstrasse at the level of the Catholic Church of St. Moritz at the confluence with Bürgermeister-Fischer-Strasse in Augsburg.
history
The Mercury Fountain was modeled between 1596 and 1599 by the Dutchman Adriaen de Vries and cast by the Augsburg city caster Wolfgang Neidhardt .
Statue of Mercury
Mercury was worshiped in Augsburg in ancient times . The Celts regarded him as the inventor of the arts, as a guide on paths and journeys. As the god of trade ("messenger of the gods"), he should draw attention to the importance of the city as a trading metropolis. The 2.5 m high group of fountains is dominated by Mercurius , who holds a snake staff (symbol of luck and peace) in his right hand and wears a winged helmet on his head . The winged Cupid , equipped with a bow, seems to the god Mercurius to loosen or tie the winged shoe. The type of "Mercurio volante", coined by Giovanni da Bologna, may serve as a model for the fountain figure of Mercury; but the Augsburg Mercury seems to persist between hurrying away and staying. The four-sided fountain stands in a decagonal marble basin. Two rocaille cartouches from 1752 are attached to the cornice. The water flows in a thin stream from the bronzes on the pillar: two dog heads, two Medusa heads, two lion masks and four eagle heads, symbols of the dangers that threaten trade and traffic and from which God should protect Mercury .
Inscriptions
The inscriptions on the pillar pedestal provide information about the construction of the well and the repeated repair work. On the north side one reads: IOANNES VELSERUS OCTAVIANUS SECUNDUS FUGGERUS II VIRI (= duum viri) LOCAVERUNT ANNO POST CHR.N MDXCVI = Johann Welser (and) Octavian Secondus Fugger , the (two) town rangers, arranged for the construction in 1596 AD. Chr.
On the south-facing side, the text reads: OCTAVIANUS SECUNDUS FUGGERUS QUIRINUS RELINGERUS II VIRI PROBAVERUNT ANNO POST CH.N. MDIC = Octavian Seconds Fugger (and) Quirin Rehlinger, the (two) city keepers, removed (the fountain) in 1599 AD.
The first repair was necessary after just 30 years; on the east side it says: HIERO.IMHOFF BERN.RELINGERUS II VIRI RENOVAR. ANNO POST CHR.N. MDCXXVIII = Hieronymus Imhoff (and) Bernhard Rehlinger, the (two) town rangers, initiated the renovation in 1628 AD.
Another overhaul was noted in further inscriptions, which were affixed on the north and south sides under the existing ones: AEDILIUM CURA PRISTINO DECORI RESTITUIT MDCLXI IOANNE CASPARE REMBOLDO DAVIDE A STETTEN II VIRIS = The care of the building officials arranged the restoration of the previous decoration , 1661, when Johann Kaspar Rembold (and) David von Stetten were town rangers.
The next repair took place in 1713, which is noted on the western bulge of the fountain column: DNO IOSEPHO ADRIANO IMHOFF DNO GOTTOFREDO AMMAN II VIRIS PREFECTIS AEDILES DNI IOANNES JACOBUS IMHOFF CHRISTOPHOR.ILSUNG IOANNES) (rib.ILSUNG IOANNES ed IACOBUS BEYER INSTAURno) (rib ) MDCCXIII = When Mr. Joseph Adrian Imhoff (and) Mr. Gottfried Amman were city keepers, the building officials, Messrs. Johann Jakob Imhoff, Christoph Siegmund Amman, Johann Christ. Ilsung (and) Joh. Jakob Beyer, took care of the repair. iJ the world redemption 1713.
In 1752, the Rococo style also captured the Mercury fountain. The last significant change is recorded in the inscription in the cartridges: LEOP.ANTON.IMHOFF MARC.CHRISTOPH.KOCH II VIRIS FRANC JOSEPH.IGN.IMHOFF IOANNES A STETTEN WOLFG.ANT.LANGENMANTEL PAUL.IOANN.MARCI AEDILIENTIBUS AOR MDCCLII FONTIS. SALIENTEM SALIENTEMPORM RUINOSUM FORI ORNAMENTO CIVIUM COMMODO AUSPICIIS IIVIRORUM AEDILES ARE PUBLICO RESTITUERUNT AMPLIFICARUNT A (nno) S (alutis) R (ecuperatae) MDCCLII = When Leopold Anton Imhoff (and) Markus Christoph Koch were (and) as Franz Jos. Ignaz Imhoff, Johann von Stetten, Wolfg. Anton Langenmantel and Paul Johann Marci were building officials, iJ the World Redemption in 1752, the officials repaired the fountain, which had become damaged over time, to decorate the square, for the good of the citizens, under the supervision of the city caretakers with public funds and made it richer , iJ of salvation regained 1752.
Preservation
The optimal method of preservation for a bronze certainly offers its accommodation in the interior. This fact motivated the city of Augsburg to place the bronze sculptures in the inner courtyard of the Maximilian Museum, which is covered with a glass roof . The fountain column is now crowned by a bronze cast of the figure of Mercury.
Detailed views
Cupid busy with wing shoe
one of two dog heads at the Mercury Fountain
one of two medusas at the Mercury Fountain
See also
literature
- Helmut Friedel: bronze picture monuments in Augsburg 1589-1606 image and urbanity . (= Treatises on the history of the city of Augsburg. Volume 22). Hieronymus Mühlberger Verlag, Augsburg 1974, ISBN 3-921133-14-9 .
- Walter Settele: Augsburg fountain . Brigitte Settele Verlag, Augsburg 1989, DNB 94294495X .
- Martha Schad: Well in Augsburg . Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 1992, ISBN 3-8112-0791-1 .
- Michael Kühlental: The Augustus Fountain in Augsburg . Hirmer Verlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7774-9890-4 .
- Ursel Berger, Björn R. Kommer (Eds.): Adriaen de Vries: 1556–1626; Augsburg's glamor - Europe's glory . Catalog for the exhibition of the same name by the municipal art collections Augsburg, March 11 - June 12, 2000. City of Augsburg, 2000, ISBN 3-8295-7024-4 .
Web links
- The Merkurbrunnen on the website of the Augsburg water management system
- Augsburg fountain
Coordinates: 48 ° 22 ′ 2 " N , 10 ° 53 ′ 54.7" E