New sculpture for the Bärenbrunnen fountain goes on public display
Invitation to the photo session: 8 December, 3 pm, town hall, exhibition room
On Thursday, 8 December at 3 pm, Mayor Michael Stötzer will present the new sculpture for the bear fountain in the exhibition room on the ground floor of the town hall. The metal sculptor Jochen Müller, who recast the three bear cubs, and Sandro Schmalfuß, who is campaigning for the reconstruction of the bear fountain, will also be present.
Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend.
The Chemnitz Bear Fountain stood on the corner of Brückenstraße and Königstraße (Straße der Nationen) from 1914 to around 1960, and in front of the "Sporthochhaus" on Theaterstraße from around 1960 to 2001.
The sculpture of the three bear cubs was the work of the sculptor Otto Pilz (1876 - 1934) from Dresden and 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. 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 "Sporthochhaus" 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 bear fountain reinstalled in the city centre.
With the help of many donors, the Quedlinburg metal sculptor Jochen Müller was able to remodel the sculpture. The bronze was cast in Marienbad. Next year, the bear fountain will be reinstalled in its new location on Börnichsgasse. The city of Chemnitz has agreed this with the developer of the new building project on Getreidemarkt. Rebo Consult Ingenieurgesellschaft mbh is providing a room for the fountain technology in the new building.
The newly cast sculpture of the three bear cubs will be on display in the town hall until it is installed on Börnichsgasse.