Round fountain in the Volkspark Friedrichshain

Round fountain
	General view from the southwest
place	Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, Friedrichshain district
country	Germany
use	Jewellery
construction time	1913 ; Completely refurbished at the beginning of the 21st century.
architect	Ludwig Hoffmann and Georg Wrba
Architectural style	Neo-baroque
Technical specifications
diameter	8 m
Floor space	14 m²
Building material	Sandstone
Coordinates
location	Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '40.3 " N , 13 ° 25' 39.7" E 52 ° 31 '40.3 " N , 13 ° 25' 39.7" E

The round fountain in Berlin (also known as the dolphin fountain ) is a decorative fountain in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg . It belongs to the overall ensemble of the fairy tale fountain in Volkspark Friedrichshain . The little brother was created at the same time as it was at the beginning of the 20th century based on designs by Ludwig Hoffmann and Georg Wrba .

history

The Volkspark Friedrichshain was created on the basis of initial design ideas by Peter Joseph Lenné according to plans by Gustav Meyer in the 1840s. After there was already a development plan for ornamental buildings in the area of the park, Hoffmann, in lengthy disputes with the city council, ensured that a fountain system could be designed and built according to well-known German fairy tales instead. On June 15, 1913, shortly before the start of the First World War , the fairy tale fountain, designed by Ludwig Hoffmann in 1901 with the help of many well-known sculptors, was inaugurated. To the east, just a few meters away, Hoffmann had planned another decorative fountain in a circular garden, which was inaugurated at the same time. The fountain, later named after its round shape, is connected to the arched gallery of the fairy tale fountain via a short walk .

Both fountain ensembles and the entire park were badly damaged in bombing at the end of the Second World War and further damage was caused by the demolition of the flak bunker in the park and the debris dump after the war . It was not until the 1950s that the magistrate had the entire park reconstructed and the fountains restored. Figures believed to be lost were reworked on the basis of historical documents. All figures are made of shell limestone and have already been repaired or reworked several times. A few recovered originals can be seen in the garden of the green space office in the park.

description

The four fish children groups

In the center of the fountain square there is a circular stone basin embedded in the ground with a diameter of around eight meters and a depth of around 30 centimeters. Four large fish lying on their stomachs are formed symmetrically across the wider edge of the pool, each with a pair of naked children standing next to them and having fun with the animals. Water jets emerge from the mouths of the fish towards the pool. A multi-jet fountain rises in the middle, which can rise up to about six meters.

In the neighborhood

Snow-white and rose-red on a well pedestal

Girl with grapes on a well pedestal

On the approach from the Märchenbrunnen there is a pair of girls with a basket on a pedestal . Roses can be seen in one basket , the group probably symbolizes the fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red , grapes and vine leaves peek out of the other basket. In the cuboid pedestals, water supply lines are installed, from which a thin stream flows into an elongated stone basin incorporated at floor level. All figures including the fish with the pairs of children were made by Georg Wrba.

The small round fountain square is marked with bushes and benches placed in front of it. There are other children's sculptures between the groups of bushes. The individual works of art show a boy with a billy goat , a boy with a pelican , a boy in hunting clothes with a rifle and a large dog and a girl with a well-fed turkey .

The four children's sculptures

Boy with a billy goat

Boy with pelican

Hunter boy with dog

Girl with turkey

A listed plane tree is included in the fountain square . The surrounding green spaces and a path leading around it form another larger roundabout.

Web links

Commons : Rundbrunnen in Volkspark Friedrichshain - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Delphinbrunnen Friedrichshain on www.stadtentwicklung.de
Round fountain (= dolphin fountain) on youtube.com

Individual evidence

↑ Because the animals depicted at the well do not look like dolphins in any way, the Senate was contacted; There was the following answer in November 2017: “According to information from the responsible employees of the lower monument authority , the designation“ dolphin fountain ”has the following background: The designation dolphin is often chosen for ornamental works from this time with regard to larger, non-dangerous fish creatures. It is assumed that the fountain was called a dolphin fountain or a round fountain in the design. It is not unusual that sculptors of this time do not take the natural species of animals as a model, or even know them, but instead draw inspiration from literature or previous works of art. At the Charlottenburg Gate, for example, the dolphins are more reminiscent of sea monsters than dolphins. It is not a question of natural history, but of mythical creatures in a story. - The name Delphinbrunnen should therefore be retained and for this reason will not be changed on the corresponding Internet pages. "
↑ Institute for Monument Preservation (Ed.): The architectural and art monuments of the GDR. Capital Berlin-I . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1984, p. 434 f .
^ Ralf Schmiedecke: The series archive pictures. Berlin-Friedrichshain . Sutton Verlag, Erfurt, ISBN 978-3-86680-038-0 ; P. 12.
↑ The aquatic animals are obviously not dolphins, but four different fantasy fish: ring tail, round tail, fish mouth .... The Senate was contacted in October 2017, a biologist classified the fish as carp-like . The answer inserted above followed later.

[Senat-1] Because the animals depicted at the well do not look like dolphins in any way, the Senate was contacted; There was the following answer in November 2017: “According to information from the responsible employees of the lower monument authority , the designation“ dolphin fountain ”has the following background: The designation dolphin is often chosen for ornamental works from this time with regard to larger, non-dangerous fish creatures. It is assumed that the fountain was called a dolphin fountain or a round fountain in the design. It is not unusual that sculptors of this time do not take the natural species of animals as a model, or even know them, but instead draw inspiration from literature or previous works of art. At the Charlottenburg Gate, for example, the dolphins are more reminiscent of sea monsters than dolphins. It is not a question of natural history, but of mythical creatures in a story. - The name Delphinbrunnen should therefore be retained and for this reason will not be changed on the corresponding Internet pages. "

[BKB-2] Institute for Monument Preservation (Ed.): The architectural and art monuments of the GDR. Capital Berlin-I . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1984, p. 434 f .

[3] Ralf Schmiedecke: The series archive pictures. Berlin-Friedrichshain . Sutton Verlag, Erfurt, ISBN 978-3-86680-038-0 ; P. 12.

[4] The aquatic animals are obviously not dolphins, but four different fantasy fish: ring tail, round tail, fish mouth .... The Senate was contacted in October 2017, a biologist classified the fish as carp-like . The answer inserted above followed later.