Neptune's Fountain ( pl, Fontanna Neptuna; german: Neptunbrunnen) is a historic

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or 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. Fountains were ori ...

in Gdańsk, a

mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

masterpiece, and one of the most distinctive landmarks of the city. The fountain is located at the

Długi Targ Długi Targ or Long Market (german: Langer Markt) in Gdańsk, Poland, is one of the most notable tourist attractions of the city. It is situated between the end of Ulica Długa (the ''Long Lane''), and the Green Gate (''Brama Zielona''). History ...

, in front of the entrance to the

Artus Court The Artus Court, formerly also Junkerhof ( pl, Dwór Artusa; german: Artushof), is a building in the centre of Gdańsk, Poland at Długi Targ 44, which used to be the meeting place of merchants and a centre of social life. Today it is a point of ...

. It was constructed in the early 17th century.

Kashubians The Kashubians ( csb, Kaszëbi; pl, Kaszubi; german: Kaschuben), also known as Cassubians or Kashubs, are a Lechitic ( West Slavic) ethnic group native to the historical region of Pomerania, including its eastern part called Pomerelia, in nor ...

use a nickname ''Krësztof'' for the sculpture.

History

In 1549 a now unknown

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

was located by the entrance of Artus Court, which may have had metal decorative pieces. The well was located slightly closer to the

Motława Motława (; csb, Mòtława) is a river in Eastern Pomerania in Poland. The source is in Szpęgawskie Lake, northeast from the town of Starogard Gdański. It goes through Rokickie Lake to Martwa Wisła, a branch of the Vistula. The total lengt ...

. The local authorities of Gdańsk, together with Mayor Bartholomäus Schachmann wanted to raise a more notable monument. The first mason to receive an offer to complete the project was Jakob Kordes from

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, but for unknown reasons, his plan was not accepted. The new fountain was to be constructed at the centre of the facade of the Artus Court, from the Green Gate the fountain would be seen with the Main town hall in the background, with the turn to the Long Lane. Neptune - the god of the sea - was to be placed facing the townhouses, which were the residence of the

Polish kings Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

, while at their stay in Danzig, the mythological god was to have his head bow down to them. The fountain was to have underground pumps connecting the fountain to the Potok Siedlecki by Sienny Market; however, the pressure was too low. Lange- oder Längemarkt Danzig Teichgräber

Lange- oder Längemarkt Danzig Teichgräber

Between 1606 and 1615, there were pending projects, sculpturing, and

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

. The sculpture's project was made by

Abraham van den Blocke Abraham van den Blocke (1572 – 31 January 1628) was an architect and sculptor. Life Van den Blocke was born in Königsberg (today Kaliningrad),

(1572–1628), with the statue made by

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Peter Husen. The sculpture was cast from bronze in 1615 in the town casting guild by Gerdt Benning. The mass of the figure is 650

kilograms The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...

. The stem the figure is found on, is made from black

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

. The architectural features of the fountain relate to Flemish mannerism. The water installations were made by Ottomar von Wettner, with the water systems designed by

Adam Wybe Adam Wybe, also known as Adam Wiebe (born July 12, 1584 in Harlingen, Friesland Harlingen (; fy, Harns ) is a municipality and a city in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland on the coast of Wadden Sea. Harlingen is a town ...

. The water tanks were located on the rooftop of the Main Town Hall and

. Until the second half of the nineteenth-century, when the underground water system was modernized, the fountain was only operational a few days of the year. Formerly, the fountain was painted. The fountain was opened on October 9, 1633, the delay was caused due to numerous disruptions: the renovation of the Artus Court; problems with the robustness of the water system; the Polish–Swedish war; and the death of

Abraham van den Blocke Abraham van den Blocke (1572 – 31 January 1628) was an architect and sculptor. Life Van den Blocke was born in Königsberg (today Kaliningrad),

. In 1634 the fountain was encompassed by a fence decorated with gilded Polish Eagles. The inauguration of the fountain's operation took place on March 23, 1634. Between the years of 1757 and 1761, Johann Karl Stender made new fragments of the fountain and stem, and

meister ''Meister'' means 'master' in German (as in master craftsman, or as an honorific title such as Meister Eckhart). The word is akin to master and maestro. In sports, ''Meister'' is used for the current national, European or world champion (e.g. ...

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

Jakob Barren had reconstructed and replaced the broken grate. This is when the fountain received its

architectural style. In 1927, the fountain was renovated. In the 1930s,

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

removed the historic Polish Eagles from the fountain's fence as part of removing traces of the city's Polish history and heritage. The fountain was damaged during

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 opposing ...

, and moved to German-occupied Parchowo. After World War II the fountain was renovated between 1950 and 1954 and put back to operation on July 22, 1957. Historic Polish Eagles on the fence were restored. In 1988, as part of renovation works the fountain's

genitals A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

were covered with a

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

leaf. A full renovation of the fountain occurred between September 2011 and April 2012.

Gallery

File:Gdańsk - Neptune's Fountain.JPG, Neptune's Fountain in front of the Artus Court File:Neptun Monument and Main Town Hall in Gdańsk.jpg, The fountain with the Polish Eagle in the foreground and the Main Town Hall in the background File:Gdańsk Neptun IMG 2633.JPG, The base of the fountain File:7629vik Gdańsk, fontanna Neptuna. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg, Neptune's Fountain and the historic townhouses of Gdańsk

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neptune's Fountain, Gdansk Buildings and structures in Gdańsk Fountains in Poland Outdoor sculptures in Poland Sculptures of Neptune

History

Gallery

See also

References