Märchenbrunnen, Baroque revival fountain in Friedrichshain, Germany.
Märchenbrunnen is a 34 by 54 metre neo-Baroque basin at the west tip of Volkspark Friedrichshain, set in four flat cascades with one large and nine small fountains and seven water-spouting frogs. A semicircular arcade of round arches closes it to the east, its niches holding stone bowls with dog-head carvings, and a balustrade of animal figures runs above. Behind the arcade stands the round Delphinbrunnen, 8 metres across, ringed by children with fairy-tale animals.
Berlin planned a decorative entrance to Volkspark Friedrichshain since 1893. Ludwig Hoffmann, city building councillor from 1896, replaced the art commission's plans with a fairy-tale fountain after seeing children play on the site; his first draft appeared in 1901. A dispute with Kaiser Wilhelm II delayed the concrete contract until 1907, and the complex opened on 15 June 1913, the kaiser's 25th jubilee, at a cost of 960,000 marks.
The fountain displays a collection of fairy tale characters from German folklore that visitors encounter while walking around it. The figures tell stories like Hansel and Gretel or Snow White, which many people recognize from childhood.
The complex lies at the western tip of Volkspark Friedrichshain, in the acute angle between Friedenstraße and Straße Am Friedrichshain, with its apex toward Königstor. Enter from the busy Königstor crossing through the wrought-iron leaf gate, or reach the fountain square via hedge-lined side paths from Friedenstraße and Straße Am Friedrichshain. The grounds are open to the public.
One of the seven Snow White dwarfs carries the unmistakable features of the painter Adolph Menzel. The resemblance was read as a quiet protest against the refusal of a memorial to Menzel, though the interpretation is doubtful: Kaiser Wilhelm II admired his Prussian history paintings and ordered a state funeral for him in 1905.
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