Year of construction:
1987/88
Design:
Bonifatius Stirnberg
Implementation:
Bonifatius Stirnberg
Location:
Depiction:
From a square basin, the rim of which is built of clinker bricks, rises a bronze pillar in the centre, the top of which is formed by two flat sun faces welded together at the back.
Hanging in a wreath-like arrangement below the sun are four masks suspended on hooks, the names of which on the pillar provide further details about them:
“O.Sch. = Gschicht, Maulaff, Knitlaskupf, Musn-Kupf” – these are clearly folk theatre characters from the Franconian dialect.
Halfway up the central pillar, a thicker ring with eight water spouts protrudes, from which water gushes upwards.
The real attraction of the fountain is the five bronze, articulated figures, four of which are mounted on support rods in the basin.
The fifth figure, a dancing young man, has taken his place on the edge of the fountain, facing Allersberger Straße. He appears to be playing music for the dancing group in the basin.
There is a young woman wearing a brimmed hat, an ankle-length ruffled skirt and bow-adorned shoes, dressed in the style of a folk-inspired town girl. She is named ‘Bohln-Petz’.
A boy in a child’s uniform, riding a hobby horse, holds out a horn to the viewer with his left hand, whilst his right hand grasps the reins of the horse’s head. He is known as “Lappl”.
The plump woman next to him is reminiscent of a market vendor and identifies herself as “Wambata-Kouh”.
The tin soldier strikes a figure that is both amusing and sad. With his sword drawn, he seems to be fighting a futile battle against the attacking passers-by, who pull and twist him by his arms, legs and even his head as they please. His name, “Teufel-Zreis”, has little deterrent effect.
The last figure in the group, like the “Wambata-Kouh”, has a cheerful, everyday appearance: a plump, not to say rotund, man in trousers and a cap has been given the name “Wooust-Molla”.
History:
The so-called ‘Bleiweiß Quarter’ underwent regeneration, renovation and redevelopment in the late 1980s, which included, amongst other things, the incorporation of works of art into the residential landscape.
The jointed-limb doll fountain was installed in the Schützenstraße pedestrian zone.
Reference:
Elke Masa, Freiplastiken in Nürnberg, S. 70, Verlag Ph.C.W. Schmidt, Neustadt/Aisch