Obelisk fountain
The obelisk fountain in Schönbrunn Palace Park in Vienna's 13th district of Hietzing is one of numerous fountains in this baroque green area. The main dimensions are: length 35.6 m, width 24.0 m and height 31.3 m.
description
The obelisk fountain, formerly also referred to as an allusion to the ancient Sybillen Sybillengrotte, forms the end point of the diagonal avenue running south-east from Schönbrunn Palace at the foot of the Schönbrunn mountain near the Meidlinger Tor.
In front of a smooth, concave retaining wall, closed with a balustrade with stone vases of flowers, there is an artificial rock with two grottos behind a water basin with an area of approximately 160 square meters . Above this grotto there is an obelisk made of 27 stone blocks , which is supported on a base by four gold-plated turtles . On the top of the obelisk there is an eagle sitting on a gilded ball. The total height of the system is 31.2 meters.
The grotto mountain consists of a brick core that is clad with rocks. Two grottos were built in it. The upper grotto was designed as a round arch and has ornaments made of foliage on its front. Above this grotto there is a mask that acts as a gargoyle and releases the water into a water basin, from where it flows into the large basin.
Another grotto is located at the water level of the well basin, was designed as a pointed arch and has a front and two side entrances.
On the west side facing the castle, this obelisk is provided with hieroglyphic symbols throughout, while on the other three sides only the nine uppermost blocks are provided with them. The history of the House of Habsburg up to the time of the construction of the obelisk should be described in this way. The deciphering of the Egyptian hieroglyphs was only possible later.
history
The obelisk fountain was built in 1777 by Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg . The sculptures are by Benedict Henrici based on designs by Wilhelm Beyer . The obelisk is made Margarethner stone , wall cladding of intercourse from Kaiserstein from the former imperial-royal quarry .
For the operation of the fountain, a water reservoir was built above the obelisk fountain, from which the Schönbrunn Baths later developed. In 1838 the future Emperor Franz Joseph I received his first swimming lessons here.
On April 23, 2007, after many years of renovation, the fountain system was put back into operation, after parts of the obelisk fountain had been repaired from 1970 and 1998.
symbolism
The grotto mountain symbolizes a place of darkness and the untamed forces of the earth. Wilhelm Beyer in his book “ Austria's Strange Things ” refers to the cave mountain as the Sybil cave, which in Virgil's Aeneid forms the entrance to the underworld .
For the Romans , obelisks, which embodied the path of the sun's rays to earth, stood for an Egyptian sun cult. This embodiment should be reinforced and clarified by the golden ball at the top, which should represent the sun.
The eagle sitting on the golden ball, which stood as a symbol for the emperor both in Rome and in the German Empire, symbolizes the ruler who acts as a mediator between heaven and earth.
The four turtles on which the base of the obelisk rests represent stability and eternity.
The obelisk itself was seen as a symbol of the steadfastness of the ruler and his rule in the baroque era. The obelisks originally moved from Egypt to ancient Rome were also the reason to establish a connection between later installation sites - such as Schönbrunn - and Rome.
See also
literature
- Beatrix Hajós: The Schönbrunn Palace Gardens . Böhlau Verlag Ges. Mb H. & Co. KG, Vienna - Cologne - Weimar 1995, ISBN 3-205-98423-4 .
- Beatrix Hajós: Schönbrunn statues - 1773 to 1780 . Böhlau Verlag Ges. Mb H. & Co. KG, Vienna - Cologne - Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-205-77228-8 .
- Julia Budka : The Schönbrunn obelisk - symbolism and content of the hieroglyphic decoration . Afro-Pub, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-85043-103-7 .
- DEHIO Vienna - X. to XIX. and XXI. to XXIII. District . Anton Schroll & Co, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-7031-0693-X .
Web links
- The Obelisk Fountain (Homepage of Schönbrunn)
- Julia Budka Obelisk symbolism
- The obelisk fountain
- ORF | Water flows again in the obelisk fountain
- Federal Geological Institute : Obeliskbrunnen - Vienna
Individual evidence
- ^ Julia Budka: Julia Budka Obelisk Symbolik. Retrieved September 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Beatrix Hajós: Schönbrunn statues
Coordinates: 48 ° 10 ′ 48.5 ″ N , 16 ° 18 ′ 57.3 ″ E