The Deluge Fountain is a monumental

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

which has stood with all its elements between 1904 and 1943 and since 2014 in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

. Throughout the first time of its existence (39 years) and since its rebuilding, the fountain has always been one of the tourist attractions of the city.

History

The fountain is outcome result of a competition issued in 1897 by the National Commission for the Promotion of Fine Arts (german: Landes für Kunst Kommission Förderung der Künste Bildende) in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, which theme was water sculptures in

. The competition, received 44 works, and rewarded a Berlin artist,

Ferdinand Lepcke Ferdinand Lepcke (or Lepke) (1866–1909) was a German sculptor, who in particular realized two major monuments in Bydgoszcz: the Deluge Fountain and The Archer. He received a golden medal at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition and, the Berlin Mini ...

(1866-1909). The construction lasted 6 years. It has been built downtown Bydgoszcz in the Regency Garden (now Park Casimir the Great), separated from the main street by St Peter and St Paul church. The unveiling ceremony took place at 1100 on 23 July 1904, the water system to the fountain being completed later in 1908. The event brought together representatives from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

and many city residents. In 1908, Ferdinand Lepcke also realized an emblematic statue, the "Archer", which stood on the Theatre Square in Bydgoszcz; it is still today the most popular symbol of the city on the Brda and

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

rivers. The cost of the entire project, according to various sources, ranged between 110 and 200 thousand German

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

. The fountain "The Deluge", with its biblical message, captured perfectly the dramatic stageof the events and aroused admiration. Located among the greenery of the park, it was the object of frequent visits during the traditional walk and quickly became a regular feature of the urban landscape. It became the hallmark of Bydgoszcz. "The Deluge" was dismantled on 7 January 1943, when occupying forces decided so, in order to melt down the 8870 of kg metal for war purposes. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

only remained the pool, in which the statue was replaced by four stone fish bubbling water, realized by Józef Makowski. Bydgoszcz fountain had two copies: in

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, the sculptor's hometown, where the sculpture is missing statues on both sides, and in

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century, E ...

Upper Saxony {{short description, Historic lands in Central Germany Upper Saxony (german: Obersachsen) was the name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Central Germany (''Mitteldeutschland''). Concept ...

, which was also melted down in 1942 for war purposes. The Coburg replica has been used as an incomplete but useful blueprint in the reconstruction project. The process of reconstruction was led by the "Social Committee for the Reconstruction of Bydgoszcz Fountain The Deluge" ( pl, Społeczny Komitet Odbudowy Bydgoskiej Fontanny Potop) from 2006 to 2014. The funds were collected from diverse sources: social contributions, city of Bydgoszcz,

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of Kuyavia and Pomerania and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. In April 2009, the first portion of the monument, the bear, has been exhibited in the city, waiting to be fixed back. In April 2010, the reconstruction of the original, colorful mosaic of the pool with circles and waves shapes, has been completed; it has been funded by Bydgoszcz city council. On 30 June 2010, came back the second part of the sculpture - a man fighting with a snake. Its author is Michał Pronobis from Radoszyce, and its cast -worth over 100,000 zlotys- was made by Jacek Guzera, from Kielce. On 3 October 2012, the central figure returned to its original place. This piece has got a height of 3 m and weighs 1,200 kg. In 2014, a new fountain bowl has been re-installed together with a water treatment plant and a lighting system. The 7 m tall last element of the monumental fountain has been carried back to town on 14 June 2014. The unveiling ceremony took place on June 26, 2014. In reconnaissance to this rebirth, a statue of professor Zygmunt Mackiewicz, famous Bydgoszcz surgeon and initiator of the reconstruction project, has been unveiled on May 15, 2016 nearby the fountain. Today (May 15) was the unveiling of the monument. The professor sits on the bench with his beloved fountain.

Elements

The statue ensemble portrays the culmination moment of the biblical flood: people and animals who are left because they did not find shelter on the barge. The sculpture fountain is composed of three independent upstanding parts. The central fountain block is a man, supporting a fainting woman in his left arm, while he strives with his other hand to pull another man on his rock. At the foot of the rock is a young mother, dying from exhaustion, but who managed to save her helpless child. Beside a lion climbs the rock, not doing any harm. This is the main figure, standing at the center of the basin. The second block figures a lonely bear crawling on the rock, its head facing east and its right paw raised. In its clenched jaws, the bear holds the dead body of a cub. The third part of the sculpture refers to the

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

: it reminds of

Laocoön Laocoön (; grc, , Laokóōn, , gen.: ), is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle. Laocoon was a Trojan priest. He and his two young sons were attacked by giant serpents, sent by the gods. The story of Laocoön has been the s ...

legend, with a man fighting a sea serpent contortioned. Realistic details outline the efforts of the muscles and the tension of the struggle. The fountain is 6 m tall and made of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

, with total weight of 9 tons. The circular pool wall is out of red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, with some Silesian gray

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, the surrounding pavement is arranged in a mosaic.

Gallery

File:Fontanna Potop 03.jpg, The fountain with St Peter's and St Paul's Church in the backdrop File:Bdg fontannaPotop14 9-2016.jpg, View of the upper elements File:Bdg fontannaPotop10 9-2016.jpg, Detail of the bottom File:Statue Mackiewicz Potop.jpg, Statue of professor Zygmunt Mackiewicz

Bibliography

References

External links