Rüdiger-Brunnen, Architectural heritage fountain in Kaufbeuren, Germany

The Rüdiger-Brunnen is a heritage fountain in Kaufbeuren featuring a roughly 2.90 meter tall bronze statue. The figure shows a warrior in prayer holding a sword, created by a Berlin sculptor in the early 20th century.

Sculptor Franz Metzner created the Rüdiger figure in 1904 for a Nibelungen fountain planned in Vienna that was never built. The city of Jablonec bought the statue in 1924 for 50,000 Czechoslovak crowns and inaugurated the fountain in 1931. After the sculpture was toppled in June 1945, it passed to Prague's National Gallery; Neugablonz businesses funded its purchase for 10,000 US dollars, and it arrived in Kaufbeuren on 17 February 1968. The rebuilt fountain was unveiled on 30 August 1970.

The statue depicts Rüdiger von Bechelaren from the Nibelung saga, a character deeply rooted in German-speaking traditions. Visitors can observe the carefully crafted representation of the warrior in prayer, translating ancient themes into bronze form.

The fountain is located in a park setting in the Neugablonz district near a church. The site is easily reached on foot and offers a quiet environment for viewing the monument.

The statue was toppled in the night of 15 June 1945 and dragged by drunken Red Guards behind a truck through Jablonec to the town hall. In 1968, during the Prague Spring, the Czechoslovak museum administration sold it for 10,000 US dollars, paid by the Neugablonz entrepreneurs Otto Walter and Alfred Prediger.