Mosaic fountain (Dresden)

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The mosaic fountain 2016
Detail of the fountain bowl
Illuminated mosaic fountain
The mosaic fountain 1979
Mosaic fountain in winter

The mosaic fountain is in the Great Garden in Dresden's old town . It was erected on the occasion of the International Horticultural Exhibition in 1926 based on a design by Hans Poelzig and his wife Marlene Moeschke-Poelzig in the Art Deco style.

location

The fountain is at its original location near the main avenue in the southwestern part of the Great Garden on a crossroads. This is only planted with tall trees, so the fountain is the only color in this rather dark place. Since the fountain renovation in 2006/2007 there have been benches around the fountain.

Appearance

The shape of the fountain is based on the model of a plant to match the surroundings. Three stylized flowers grow from a round fountain bowl. The whole fountain is covered with around half a million mosaic stones in the colors earth brown, gray, green, blue, orange, yellow and gold. The fountain shows an expressionistic language of forms with oriental influences. With regard to the height of the water falling and the diameter of the pool, the well is incorrectly constructed, which is why the water splashes over the edge of the pool.

history

In 1926 the International Horticultural Exhibition took place in Dresden to mark the centenary of the Saxon Society for Botany and Horticulture . The mosaic fountain designed by Hans Poelzig and his wife Marlene Moeschke-Poelzig was one of the numerous works of art erected for the occasion. The Gütersloh magazine Bauwelt noted at the time: "The special thing about the Poelzig fountain [...] is that it was the first time that a material, namely mosaic, was used that had never been used for such a large monumental task."

The fountain was made by August Wagner in his Berlin company Puhl & Wagner . It consisted of hollow concrete bodies, which were covered with mosaic stones. There are contradicting information about the planned shelf life. Depending on the source, the fountain was only designed for the exhibition period or for a longer lifespan. A longer planned lifetime is likely. The company Puhl & Wagner wrote in a letter to the Dresden Art Academy on June 10, 1929: "The more coincidental external reason for the construction of this park fountain is irrelevant today in view of the stability of the core and the mosaic cladding, which is calculated over the long term."

When the fountain was about to be demolished after the end of the exhibition, Poelzig turned to Lord Mayor Bernhard Blüher on September 17, 1926 with a request for the city of Dresden or the state of Saxony to take over the fountain permanently. Until then, Poelzig claims to have cost the fountain 30,000 marks and delivered the designs free of charge. Before that, August Wagner had also applied to various Dresden offices to take over the well. Lord Mayor Blüher replied that he would like to keep the “fountain as a jewel in the Great Garden”. He hoped that the country would cover the costs. On June 10, 1929, the Puhl & Wagner company turned to the Great Council of the Dresden Art Academy . Until then, the contact with the responsible authorities had remained fruitless. Demolition of the well has already been ordered, and relocation to a location outside of Dresden has failed due to a lack of finances. There is no answer to this request - but the fountain was allowed to remain in its place.

Since then, there have been repeated restoration work on the fountain. The first in 1946 to repair holes left by bomb fragments. The well had been dry since around 1980 because of its poor condition. In December 1982 the VEB Denkmalpflege Dresden prepared an expert opinion on the cleaning of the mosaic stones. In October 1983 the Council of Culture of the City of Dresden commissioned the structural analysis of the fountain. Here, major structural problems were found. From 1984 it was scaffolded without any renovation work being carried out. Due to environmental influences, frost and salt deposits, the reinforcements were rusted and the well tilted. In the next few years a few more reports were issued. For example, a former lighting was discussed. A lamp holder had been found, but no images of the illuminated fountain existed. The necessary renovation did not take place due to a lack of material.

Work could not begin until 1994. A circulation pump and spotlights were installed and missing pieces of the mosaic were added. In addition, the water technology was put back into operation and connected to the service water system in the Great Garden. In 2006 it was found that the concrete structure had become unstable. Tiles fell down. A reorganization of 800,000 euros that was initiated was completed in July 2007. In the spring of 2013, the well had to be drained again because the well bowl had become leaky. Parts of the shell had sunk, fragments had flaked off. In addition, numerous cracks had formed in the shell due to the calcareous water (despite a softening system installed in 2006 ). The mosaic stones were removed from the inner shell, a new foundation was built, a stainless steel mesh was drawn into the shell and re-concreted on top. The entire fountain technology and lighting were also renewed. Since the renovation, drinking water has been gushing in the well, which is less calcareous than the previous service water. In August 2016 the well was put back into operation. The Free State paid 330,000 euros for the renovation.

literature

  • Helmut Geisert, Elisabeth Moortgat (Red.): Walls made of colored glass. The archive of the United Workshops for Mosaic and Glass Painting Puhl & Wagner, Gottfried Heinersdorff . Berlinische Galerie, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-927873-01-2 (catalog for the exhibition from December 8, 1989 to January 21, 1990 in the Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin; Contemporary Museum . No. 9), pp. 160ff.
  • Detlef Eilfeld and Jochen Hänsch: The Dresden Fountain Book: Volume 2 . SV SAXONIA Verlag, Dresden 2015, ISBN 978-3-944210-75-9 .
  • Eberhard Grundmann: The most beautiful fountains in and around Dresden . 1st edition. Saxo-Phon, Dresden 2010, ISBN 978-3-938325-72-8 , p. 14-15 .

See also

Web links

Commons : Mosaic Fountain  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kerstin Dörhöfer: Pioneers in architecture: a building history of modernism . Ernst Wasmuth Verlag , 2004, p. 115, 180 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ↑ a b c d e Jochen Hänsch: Dresden fountain - jewel in the great garden . In: Saxon newspaper . July 27, 2009 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  3. ↑ a b Birgit Hilbig: Fairy tales in the spotlight . In: Saxon newspaper . August 29, 2000 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  4. ↑ Eberhard Grundmann: The most beautiful fountains in and around Dresden . 1st edition. Saxo-Phon, Dresden 2010, ISBN 978-3-938325-72-8 , p. 14-15 .
  5. ^ Werner Pinkert: Forgot to dismantle the well after the exhibition . In: Saxon newspaper . November 6, 2003 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  6. ↑ Dr. Neumann: The Poelzig fountain in Dresden . In: Bauwelt . No. 26 . Berlin July 1, 1926, p. 13 .
  7. ↑ Sarah Grundmann: Gettling after half a century . In: Saxon newspaper . May 10, 2016 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  8. ↑ a b Peter Weckbrodt: June 2016, the mosaic fountain could be bubbling again . In: Dresdner Latest News . September 28, 2015 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  9. ↑ Lars Kühl: The mosaic fountain in the Great Garden stays dry . In: Saxon newspaper . April 28, 2014 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  10. ↑ a b c Detlef Eilfeld and Jochen Hänsch: Das Dresdner Brunnenbuch: Volume 2 . SV SAXONIA Verlag, Dresden 2015, ISBN 978-3-944210-75-9 .
  11. ↑ Bettina Klemm: A decorative place for the large garden . In: Saxon newspaper . September 22, 2008 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  12. ↑ a b Simone Burig: Mosaic fountain bubbles again in summer . In: Saxon newspaper . November 7, 2015 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  13. ↑ The mosaic fountain is renewed . In: Saxon newspaper . December 2, 2006 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).
  14. ↑ At the end of July it bubbles again . The mosaic fountain in the Great Garden is almost completely renovated. In: Dresdner Latest News . June 30, 2016 ( online via GBI-Genios [accessed August 12, 2016]).

Coordinates: 51 ° 2 '26.1 "  N , 13 ° 45' 14.3"  E