Bertoldsbrunnen Zähringen

The Bertoldsbrunnen (“Bertold’s Fountain”) is a monument in the historic city of Freiburg im Breisgau.

A fountain was built in 1807 in remembrance of 1806, when Freiburg swore its oath to the new territorial lord, the prince-elector Karl Friedrich von Baden, who was promoted to grand duke. However, the monument was not only for Friedrich, who had the titles of grand duke of Baden and duke of Zähringen. It was also a symbol of the worship to duke Berthold III,  the founder of Freiburg, Conrad I. All this was expressed through Latin inscriptions at the pedestal of the fountain.

The fountain  was completely destroyed by bombers during a British airstrike in 1944.

The curatorship of Bertoldsbrunnen agreed on the design by Nikolaus Röslmeir. It provided for a relatively abstract monument: a pedestal made out of limestone, which is positioned in a shallow water basin (fountain) and which carries an equestrian statue. The overall shape of the fountain with its sculpture is inspired by gothic pointed arches, which is supposed to establish a connection to the Freiburg Minster. The pedestal bears the inscription “For the Dukes of Zähringen, founders and men of Freiburg im Breisgau”. An emblem from the Middle Ages served as basis for the equestrian statue.

In 1965, on the anniversary of the bomb attack of 1944, the fountain was presented to the public. However, due to the abstract design of the knight cast in bronze, the people were not pleased with it.

In the year 1972, the fountain was moved  to its present locating in its middle. At the same time, the fountain basin was taken off, and the monument was placed in a water basin embedded in the ground.