Muschelminna, Historic fountain at Postplatz, Görlitz, Germany

Muschelminna is a fountain on Postplatz in Görlitz, completed in 1887 to designs by Robert Toberentz. A massive marble pedestal carries four marble figures around its sides, with stone satyr heads between them acting as water spouts. Above them stands a 3.44-metre bronze female figure holding a water-spouting shell over her head; it represents the Roman nature goddess Flora.

The original bronze monument was erected in 1887, but the figure was melted down in 1942 during World War II to make weapons. A new cast replica was reinstalled at the site in 1994.

The four marble figures at the base corners each represent different human qualities: hunters with their tools, graceful nymphs, fishermen with their catch, and mermaids. These carved forms show how people in the past understood and valued different ways of living and working.

The fountain stands on Postplatz, the square between Görlitz's first post office of 1855 and the district court built opposite in 1865. Tram tracks laid in 1937 cross the square, and a lawn oval surrounds the basin. The bronze figure faces visitors arriving from the old town on foot.

The fountain's nickname comes from the bronze figure's shell, held above her head; locals dubbed her Muschelminna, and the name stuck. The 3.44-metre statue represents Flora, the Roman goddess of nature, while the four marble figures around the base were read as a fisherman, a hunter, a nymph and a mermaid.