Industriebrunnen, Water well monument in Düsseldorf, Germany
The Industriebrunnen is a public fountain on Fürstenplatz in Düsseldorf's Friedrichstadt district. It consists of a stone basin with three bronze figures: Vulcan the Blacksmith, a Miner and a Steelworker, the latter two wearing loincloths. The figures were cast at the Lauchhammer art foundry. The fountain is a protected monument.
In 1908 the Central-Gewerbe-Verein für Rheinland, Westfalen und benachbarte Bezirke held a competition for a fountain before the Kunstpalast commemorating the 1902 industry and trade exhibition; none of the 44 entries won first prize. Built 1911–1913 to Gotthold Nestler's design, with bronze figures by Friedrich Coubillier cast at Lauchhammer, it was inaugurated in 1913, dismantled in 1925 for the Ehrenhof works, and re-erected on Fürstenplatz in 1939. Removed in 1942 for a metal donation, the figures survived and returned in 1950.
The fountain's three bronze figures by Friedrich Coubillier depict Vulcan the Blacksmith, a Miner and a Steelworker, the last two in loincloths. Cast at the Lauchhammer art foundry, they were removed in 1942 for a planned wartime metal donation but survived intact and were re-erected in 1950. The Düsseldorf foundry Schmäke replaced their rusted iron anchors with stainless-steel elements in 2005.
The fountain stands on Fürstenplatz in the Friedrichstadt district, at the coordinates 51.21370, 6.78552. It is in public space and reachable on foot; the bronze figures can be viewed from the square at any time. In 2005 the Kunstgießerei Schmäke replaced the rusted iron anchors with stainless-steel elements.
The three bronze figures were removed in 1942 to be melted down as a metal donation for armaments, but they survived intact and were put back on the Fürstenplatz in 1950. In 2005 the Schmäke foundry in Düsseldorf replaced their rusted iron anchors with stainless-steel elements.
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