Hammering instead of splashing water: Because the fish fountain at Marienplatz has to be renovated, the popular meeting place has just been drained.
Munich - Since the last renovation, the Fischbrunnen at Marienplatz * has been in continuous operation for almost ten years.
As the city of Munich * announced, the well coating is no longer intact.
This could lead to frost cracks and damage to the natural stone substance in winter.
The bronze figures - three butcher boys who pour water from buckets into the basin - are also damaged by limescale deposits.
After the pool has been completed, they are therefore also cleaned out on site.
The characteristic turquoise pool color is retained, as confirmed by the building department: "The coating of the fountain pool will be carried out in the previous color."
Munich: Fischbrunnen at Marienplatz - history goes back to 1318
The fish fountain stands on one of the oldest fountain locations in Munich - a drawing well can be detected there as early as 1318.
A facility commissioned by the sculptor Konrad Knoll in 1866 was largely destroyed in a bomb attack in January 1944.
From the original figures only the three butcher journeyman remained.
Three other preserved musical figures from the Knoll fountain are now in the arch of the Karlstor.
Today's fountain was built in 1954 based on a design by Josef Henselmann.
The bronze fish on the central column is a reminder of the time when Marienplatz was still the central market square.
Back then, the fishmongers hung their living goods in baskets in the fresh well water.
Later butcher apprentices were “acquitted” in the well: They jumped into the pool as apprentices and came out again as journeymen.
A tradition that is still upheld today is washing your wallet on Ash Wednesday: According to legend, it is said to bring a rich financial blessing.
The renovation work on the fish fountain is expected to last until April 23rd.
(cla)
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