The Athenebrunnen (or Fountain of Pallas Athena) is a fountain that bears the name of the
Greek goddess Athena and is along Jean-Amery-Weg towards
Karlsruhe in the western part of
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
.
[ Karlshöhe is also the name of the area south of the Höhe in the southern part of Stuttgart.] It is a creation of (1870–1941), dating from 1911. This fountain, important both culturally and historically, has been fully operational since 2011.
Story
The fountain belonged to the park of the villa built in 1870 by the industrialist (1840–1905). His widow Julie had the fountain built by sculptor Karl Donndorf on the northern slope of Karlshöhe in a neoclassical style. It was located in the park above the Villa Siegle which is at the foot of Karlshöhe, and below the family's summer house "Sonnenschlösschen", which was at the top.
During the
Second World War, the whole park suffered much damage. The villa had been destroyed in 1944 and the ruins demolished in 1953. The summer house was also demolished in 1961 and replaced by a viewing terrace with a bar which still exists today. Athena's fountain had also fallen into disrepair. In 1989, the Cultural Association
Verschönerungsverein Stuttgart, which owns a large part of Karlshöhe, had the basins and figures of the fountains restored.
A notice-board next to the fountain reads: "For the 150th anniversary in 2011, the cultural association Verschönerungsverein Stuttgart restored the statues of Athena, Pandora, Prometheus, the head of Zeus and the system of fountains." The fountain has been functioning normally since then.
Appearance
In the center of the neoclassical fountain dominates the statue of the goddess Athena at the moment of her birth. According to Greek mythology –
Hesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
's ''
Theogony'' (886–900) – she emerged from the head of her father
Zeus in full armor.
["There the goddess (Athena) received he aegiswhereby she excelled in strength all the deathless ones who dwell in Olympus, she who made the host-scaring weapon of Athena. And with it (Zeus) gave her birth, arrayed in arms of war." Hesiod, ''Theogony'', translated by H.G. Evelyn-White; available at '' Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica/The Theogony''.] The stone statue of Athena wears a metal shield, spear, armor and helmet. Only the head of Zeus appears; this serves as a pedestal for the statue of the goddess.
Below the statue of Athena and the head of Zeus, two well basins lie like a staircase. Next to the lower basin, the stone figure of
Prometheus can be seen on the right hand of Athena. On her left is the figure of
Pandora
In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...
with the famous box on her lap.
Symbolism
The choice of the goddess Athena reflects how the Siegle family liked to see themselves. Athena is the protector of the city of
Athens but moreover she is considered the goddess of wisdom and the patroness of the arts and sciences. Gustav and Julie Siegle were also generous supporters of cultural, social and scientific purposes. Not only was the first hospital (1893) in
Feuerbach theirs, but also the
Gustav-Siegle-Haus in Stuttgart in 1912, which was used for popular education.
Moreover, the system of fountains symbolizes the dual value of all human striving for knowledge. According to Greek mythology, Prometheus brought fire to men and was cruelly punished for his act by Zeus. On the other hand, Pandora brought all the evils to humanity by leaving them only hope.
Pallas Athene-Brunnen
Stiftung Stuttgarter Brünnele. As retrieved by the Wayback Machine on 16 September 2016.
Three years later, in 1914, Karl Donndorf undertook another work in Stuttgart on the ambivalence of good and bad with the (Fountain of Destiny), composed of the Goddess of Fate in the center of a semicircle, on the left the statue of the allegory of pain, on the right the statue of the allegory of joy and love.
Other photographs
file:Athenebrunnen-Stuttgart_Prometheus.jpg, The statue of Prometheus
file:Athenebrunnen-Stuttgart_Pandora.jpg, The statue of Pandora
file:Athenebrunnen-Stuttgart_Schild.jpg, Athena's shield
Literature
"Pallas-Athene-Brunnen." In: Bernd Langner and Wolfgang Kress, ''Ausblicke nach allen Richtungen: 150 Jahre Verschönerungsverein Stuttgart e.V.; 1861–2011.'' Stuttgart: Schönerungsverein Stuttgart, 2011; , page 171.
Notes
References
External links
Gablenberger-Klaus-Blog
Fate-fountain-Stuttgart-Germany
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1911 sculptures
Buildings and structures in Stuttgart
Fountains in Germany
Ancient Greece in art and culture
Sculptures of Athena
Sculptures of Zeus
Sculptures in Baden-Württemberg