White Eagle Fountain in Szczecin

The White Eagle Fountain on White Eagle Square in Szczecin is the oldest surviving Baroque fountain in the city. The design was made by the Berlin architect Johann Friedrich Grael, and it was built in 1729-1732.

Who built it

According to the Wikipedia entry, the work was carried out by the sculptor Johann Konrad Koch and the stonemason Angerer. Until 1945 the fountain was called, in German, Brunnen auf dem Roßmarkt, that is, the fountain on the Horse Market.

The first section of the waterworks

The fountain was put into operation on 15 August 1732 and was at the same time the first section of the Szczecin waterworks. In 1866 it was moved to its present site, because it originally stood by tenement houses nos. 18-19 on the Koński Kierat Street side. During the Second World War it was covered with gravel and sand to protect it from destruction, and it survived in the form of a mound.

What it looks like

The fountain is made of sandstone. At the bottom is a basin in the shape of a four-leaf clover with fluted walls, and in the middle a square shaft with semicircular niches containing mascarons and conch-shaped basins. The corners are reinforced with pedestals, and at the top stand shell-shaped basins. At the top of the basin, on a pile of stones, rests a sculpture of an eagle with outspread wings.

Renovations

Major renovations were carried out in 1990-1992 and 2005-2006. The foundations were restored and the iron fence from before the war was reconstructed. The fountain was put back into operation on 8 April 2006.

Practical information

• Location: White Eagle Square, Szczecin, Old Town.
• Next to it stand the Palace Under the Globe and the Velthusen Palace, and it is about 200 metres to St James' Cathedral Basilica.
• The fountain is viewed from the outside, and the period when it runs depends on the manager of the square.