Nymphenbrunnen on the Neustädter Markt

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Western fountain 2011
Eastern fountain 2015

The two nymph fountains on Neustädter Markt in Dresden were created by Johann Benjamin Thomae between 1738 and 1742 . Together with the entirety of Neustädter Markt and Hauptstraße , the fountains are listed as historical monuments .

story

These fountains originally stood at the corners of the Neustädter Gewandhaus, which was demolished in 1750, and the Old Neustädter Town Hall, which was demolished in 1755 . The water for this came from the Dresdner Heide , the pipe ended in the immediately adjacent water houses. The fountain was first renovated in 1829 by the court sculptor Franz Pettrich . In 1903 the wells stood dry.

The wells in 1912 (left and far right) before the relocation

According to reports from 1920, both wells had been damaged "by the weather and by gunfire during a riot". Defects were filled with cement and the wells were given a new coat of oil paint. Since the sandstone could no longer breathe due to the paint, it decomposed over the years. This was evident when the paint was removed or when it was leached. In 1938 Paul Polte was commissioned to make copies of the figures from Kirchleither sandstone . Georg Wrba proposed a complete renovation of the wells, but this failed due to the estimated costs of 22,300 marks.

Both wells were badly damaged during the air raids on Dresden in 1945. In 1957 the sculptor Werner Hempel was able to renew the fountain.

In 1974, both wells were dismantled with storage on the Neustädter Elbe bank at the Augustusbrücke in order to achieve construction freedom for the redesign of the Neustädter Markt. The "conception of artistic redesign for the development area Dresden - Innere Neustadt" stipulated: "The fountains are freely included in the design of the square without a back wall while maintaining the diagonal position to the ' Golden Rider '."

Eastern fountain 1986

For the re-opening of the Liberation Road (today: Hauptstraße) and the Neustädter Markt in 1979, the fountains were each given their new location about 12 meters from the old location, after another repair by Werner Hempel and his son Christian Hempel . In order to ensure a uniform stone color, the renewed sandstone parts received an artificial aging. The wrought iron work was carried out by Peter Bergmann.

The Elbe flood in 2002 damaged the wells, so that in 2003 they had to be renovated for 100,000 euros. Unknown people colored the well water in 2015 and smeared the figures with pink paint. The figures of the fountain appear badly weathered again in the 2020s.

Look

On both corner fountains a half-reclining nymph is depicted, around which water-spouting sea creatures and a boy play around. The water runs into heavy sandstone troughs. On the front, almost three meter wide pedestals, there are small water outlets as dog troughs.

The two fountains have a similar structure, but differ in their details. The western nymph leans on a dolphin. Next to her is a putti with a fish on her left shoulder, which the nymph seems to be caressing. A scroll leans against the nymph's right leg. There used to be an oar at the place of the scroll. The eastern nymph leans on a paddle . She is holding a shell in her left hand. Next to the nymph there is another dolphin and a boy. The boy seems to be screaming because a cancer is pinching him.

Today the two fountains are arranged symmetrically to the market.

An attribution of the two fountains as allegorical representations of the Elbe and the Vistula in relation to the coronation of Augustus the Strong as King of Poland cannot be proven.

gallery

  • Eastern fountain 1980

  • Dog drinker at the eastern well

  • Cancer tweaks boys at the eastern well

  • West fountain, detail

  • View of the square with the two fountains in 2021

literature

  • Detlef Eilfeld and Jochen Hänsch: The Dresden fountain book . 1st edition. tape 2 . SV SAXONIA, Dresden 2015, ISBN 978-3-944210-75-9 , p. 64-67 .

See also

Web links

Commons : Nymphenbrunnen, Dresden  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Pinkert: Protective nymphs, lightly clothed . In: Saxon newspaper . June 23, 2005 ( online for a fee [accessed October 20, 2021]).
  2. ↑ Veit Hengst: Bubbling water features . In: Saxon newspaper . April 17, 2003 ( online for a fee [accessed October 20, 2021]).
  3. ^ Sven Ellger: Nymphs are cleaned . In: Saxon newspaper . May 19, 2015 ( online for a fee [accessed October 20, 2021]).

Coordinates: 51 ° 3 ′ 29.6 ″  N , 13 ° 44 ′ 30.1 ″  E