New Chemnitz bear fountain is inaugurated
Ceremonial unveiling on 4 November, 1 pm, Getreidemarkt/Börnichsgasse
The new Chemnitz bear fountain in Getreidemarkt/Börnichsgasse will be ceremonially unveiled on Saturday, 4 November at 1 pm in the presence of the Mayor of Chemnitz, Michael Stötzer, the artist Jochen Müller, the project participants, the initiator Sandro Schmalfuß and many sponsors.
Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend.
A small cultural programme - with jazz from the Carl Wittig Trio and bagpipes from Highland piper Mathew McKelvie - will provide a musical backdrop to the inauguration.
Background:
The Chemnitz Bear Fountain first stood on the corner of Brückenstraße and Königstraße (Straße der Nationen) from 1914 to around 1960, and then from around 1960 to 2001 in front of the high-rise building on Theaterstraße, the so-called Sporthochhaus.
The sculpture of the three bear cubs, originally a work by the sculptor Otto Pilz (1876 - 1934) from Dresden, was on public display for the first time in 1914 as an ensemble with a shell limestone basin as an ornamental fountain at the International Building Exhibition in Leipzig. The Bear Fountain was purchased for Chemnitz on the initiative of the Chemnitz Beautification Association of the time and with the financial support of Chemnitz factory director Bruno Salzer (company founded in Chemnitz in 1883). Over the decades, the water feature with the three bears developed into a popular Chemnitz original. The bear sculpture was considered so artistically valuable that it was not melted down for the metal donation in 1917 during the First World War and in 1940 during the Second World War.
When the city centre of Karl-Marx-Stadt was rebuilt around 1960, the bear fountain was given a new porphyry basin and a new location in front of the sports tower block on what was then Wilhelm-Pieck-Straße. The bear sculpture was stolen in 2000. The remaining fountain bowl and stele were then dismantled and stored.
Since 2014, Sandro Schmalfuß from Chemnitz has been committed to the reconstruction of the Chemnitz bear fountain. His collection of historical photographs and cine films from Chemnitz and Karl-Marx-Stadt, which he had compiled for the Chemnitz Film Archive, included three cine films from 1958 and 1969 as well as a series of photographs and slides showing the Bear Fountain and the lost sculpture in detail. His idea was to use these historical photographs to remodel the bear sculpture and have the fountain reinstalled in the city centre.
With the help of many donors, it has now been possible to reconstruct the entire bear fountain. Schubert & Salzer GmbH, for example, has once again made a contribution with a generous donation to mark the 140th anniversary of the company's founding.
The Quedlinburg metal sculptor Jochen Müller recreated the sculpture. The bronze was cast in Marienbad. The Scheunert company created the new fountain basin and the Schreier fountain maintenance company used modern technology to make the fountain bubble again.
For the new location of the Bärenbrunnen, the city of Chemnitz was able to reach an agreement with Rebo Consult Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH as the client of the new building project on the Getreidemarkt, which is also providing a room for the fountain technology.
The company REWE is sponsoring the operation of the bear fountain, which will become the property of the City of Chemnitz.