The Mary Fountain

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The Mary Fountain

In the Late Gothic Mary fountain (1511), the figure of Mary rises above two polygonal basins embellished with arabesques, ornate foliage and imaginative masks. The fountain originally dispensed potable water out of thirteen spouts and was connected to Freiburg’s water mains, which channelled water from surrounding springs into the city, the Minster and elsewhere. A metal pipe runs beneath small floor slabs (some with an iron ring) through the Southern Imperial Chapel to the fountain.

  • This lithograph from 1881 shows a procession in the choir aisle. The Mary Fountain can be seen without the statue of the Virgin Mary, which was removed in the 19th century.

    This lithograph from 1881 shows a procession in the choir aisle. The Mary Fountain can be seen without the statue of the Virgin Mary, which was removed in the 19th century.

  • The original state of the fountain with the statue of the Virgin Mary, created in 1540 by the sculptor Steffen Schenen from Reutlingen, was not restored until 1915.

    The original state of the fountain with the statue of the Virgin Mary, created in 1540 by the sculptor Steffen Schenen from Reutlingen, was not restored until 1915.