Statues - Hither & Thither

 

Description

King Gustav Adolf II of Sweden was once revered by Erfurt as a hero of the Thirty Years' War. He was considered protector of the Protestant faith and with his help, Erfurt was freed from the power of the Catholic archbishop of Mainz - the city was under the dominion of the Electorate of Mainz - and Erfurt cherished the hope to be raised by the king to the rank of a free imperial city.

Sandstone column with on the front a portrait medaillon of King Gustav Adolph II, with his name 'GUSTAV ADOLF'. At the sides are two fountain basins with small statuettes of a man and a woman. On top of the column is statue of a sitting lion holding a shield with the coat of arms of Erfurt. At the base are two stone reliefs of a book and a goblet respectively.

Around the column is the title of the King's favourite Lutheran hymn, written by Johann M. Altenburg (1632):

sitting lion with the Erfurt coat of arms

man

woman with child

Bible, sword and scythe

Goblet, palm and olive branches

Signature

Sculptor

• Carl Melville (Mitau 1875 - Sonneberg 1957), German sculptor (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

• Erfurt-lese.de, Gustav-Adolf-Brunnen.
• Erfurt: Denkmäle, Brunnen, Skulpturen und Reliefs im städtischen Raum, 2002 (PDF on-line).

Tags

Location (N 50°58'36" - E 11°1'43")

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