Simon Roof Fountain

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The "Ännchen" of the Simon-Dach-Fountain

The Simon Roof Fountain is on the Theater Square in Klaipėda (German: Memel ), Lithuania.

history

The Simon-Dach-Brunnen was created in 1912 on Theaterstrasse in the heart of the old town of Memel by the sculptor Arnold Künne with the help of donations from the residents of Memel in memory of the poet Simon Dach who was born there . In contrast to the Borussia monument , there was no state support.

The fountain figure is reminiscent of the most famous work by Simon Dach, the folk song Ännchen von Tharau . The model for the "Ännchen" was Gerda Schiweck, the daughter of a Sandkruger dune master. The Memel poet Friedrich Thimm wrote a witty four-stanza poem to celebrate the inauguration of the fountain, the middle stanzas of which are:

One thing, however, seems heartless to me:
that he forgot the paraphrase with you.
Where my sweetheart
comes under the roof with the crash of thunder, yes, even when it rains!

What such a poet often sees stupid.
Aennchen replies with jubilation in the song
"Can all the weather sleep on us right away,
we are used to standing next to each other."

In 1939 the memorial was moved to another location. After the annexation of Memel Land by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , a Stalin bust took its place in 1945 in Klaipėda, which is now Soviet .

In 1988, citizens of Klaipedia decided to build a new Ännchen von Tharau monument with the help of Germans . Since the original had disappeared, the sculptor Harald Haacke created a new figure using old photos and a small plastered doll that was found . This was cast from bronze in 1988. On November 18, 1989, the new fountain was inaugurated on the old square in front of the city theater. It is one of the most visited sights in Klaipėda.

At the highest point of the pedestal you can find the inscription (all four sides, starting from the front, reading around to the right):

AENNCHEN VON THARAU
MY WEALTH, MY GOOD
YOU, MY SOUL, MY
FLESH AND MY BLOOD

The plaque reads in Lithuanian and German:

The fountain monument was erected here in 1912 in memory of the poet Simon Dach, who was born in this town. Sculptor A. Künne. Thanks to the joint efforts of the citizens of our city and the association “Ännchen von Tharau” in Mainz, it was rebuilt in 1989. The portrait of S. Dach and the fountain figure were reconstructed by the sculptor H. Haacke (Berlin).

photos

  • General view of the Theaterplatz (2015)

  • Statue with Simon-Dach-Brunnen in the frontal view

  • Statue with Simon Roof Fountain (right side)

  • Statue with Simon Roof Fountain (from behind)

  • Statue with Simon Roof Fountain (left side)

  • Simon roof

  • Memorial plaque with Lithuanian and German lettering

literature

  • Hermann Pölking: The Memelland: Where Germany once ended - A historical travel companion. 2012

Web links

Commons : Simon-Dach-Brunnen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ quoted from: Christian Roedig: Theater in the far north. Memel's theater between Prussia, the German Empire and the Lithuanian Republic. Published as work 52 of the PRUSSIA series, Husum 2018, ISBN 978-3-89876-951-8 , p. 63.
  2. ↑ Ruth Kibelka : Memellandbuch. Five decades of post-war history. Basisdruck, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-86163-128-8 , p. 50.
  3. ↑ Antanas Stanevicius: Guessing riddles about Ännchen von Tharau . Rytas, Klaipeda 1992.
  4. ↑ Taravos Anikė: keturi vyrai per keturis šimtmečius. August 1, 2012, accessed January 23, 2019 (Lithuanian).

Coordinates: 55 ° 42 ′ 28.7 "  N , 21 ° 7 ′ 53.6"  E