Samson Fountain (Budweis)

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Samson Fountain in Ceske Budejovice

The Samson Fountain ( Samsonova kašna in Czech ) on the main square of Budweis ( České Budějovice ) in the South Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic was built between 1721 and 1726. The protected cultural monument is one of the city's landmarks .

history

The Samson Fountain was built as part of the water supply for the city of Budweis. The first proposal to build a fountain on Budweiser Hauptplatz was made in 1716 by the surveyor Jan Rappa. The Neuhauser Jesuit Franz ( František ) Baugut submitted drafts, for which the Schwarzenberg master builder Paul ( Pavel ) Kolečný from Třeboň worked out the technical plans. The fountain was probably modeled on the Cabbage Fountain ( Kohlova kašna ), which has stood in the second forecourt of Prague Castle since 1686 and is also called the Lion Fountain ( Lví kašna ) because of its decorative figures .

The stonemason Zacharias Horn (1679–1738) cut the large shell to catch the splashing water in one piece from the sandstone directly in the quarry of Besednice near Trhové Sviny (Marktschweinitz) . In August 1722 the mussel was brought to Budweis with great difficulty. In order to get into the city center, the Schweinitzer gate even had to be widened.

To supply the fountain with running water, the water tower was built south of the old town. There, the water from the Vltava was pumped into elevated tanks and from there it flowed continuously with constant pressure to the well and from there further north.

The pillory , which had stood on the main square since at least 1391, was removed after the decision to build the fountain in 1719 and replaced by a simple wooden column in front of the town hall . In the course of the reforms of Emperor Joseph II , the pillory was finally removed.

Fountain

In the middle of the octagonal fountain basin stands a high, square base on which four atlases arranged around a column support a large water conch, in the middle of which the powerful figure of the lion-taming Samson rises. The large water mussel, the four decorative vases on the edge of the fountain and the 24 stone pillars that are arranged around the fountain and connected with iron chains come from Zacharias Horn. The statue of Samson conquering the lion and the four atlases that carry the shell are the work of the sculptor Josef Dietrich.

With a diameter of 15 meters and a capacity of 237 cubic meters, the Samson Fountain is one of the largest in the Czech Republic.

See also

literature

  • Karel Pletzer: České Budějovice. The royal city in South Bohemia. 1991, ISBN 80-7016-032-2 .

Web links

Commons : Samson Fountain (Budweis)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Samsonova kašna ÚSKP 28776 / 3-815 in the monument catalog pamatkovykatalog.cz (Czech).
  2. a b c d Samsonova kašna (Samson Fountain) . In: Scientifically edited online encyclopedia encyklopedie.c-budejovice.cz about Budweis (Czech).
  3. pranýř (pillory) . In: Scientifically edited online encyclopedia encyklopedie.c-budejovice.cz about Budweis (Czech).
  4. a b Pletzer 1991.

Coordinates: 48 ° 58 ′ 28.4 "  N , 14 ° 28 ′ 27.6"  E