German Fountain
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| 41°00′26″N 28°58′36″E / 41.0071°N 28.9767°E | |
| Location | Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey |
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The German Fountain (
History
The idea of Great Palace of Constantinople's Empire Lodge (Kathisma) being on the site of the German Fountain's, conflicts with the view that Carceres Gates of Hippodrome was found on the site of the fountain however, the hypothesis of Carceres Gates being on the site enforces the view that Quadriga of Lysippos was used to stand on the site of the German Fountain.[1]
During his reign as
According to the Ottoman inscription, the fountain's construction started in the Hejira 1319 (1898–1899),[7] although the inauguration of the fountain was planned to take place on 1 September 1900 – the 25th anniversary of Abdülhamid II's ascension to the throne. Construction, however, could not finish at the planned time and it was instead inaugurated on 27 January 1901, which was Wilhelm II's birthdate.[6] Marble, stone and gem parts of the fountain were constructed in Germany and transported piece by piece to Istanbul by ships.[6]
Architecture
The German Fountain was constructed on the site where there was a tree which is known as Vakvak Tree (
The neo-Byzantine style octagonal fountain stands on a base with eight steps rising up to an entry gate. There are seven brass fountain spouts over basins on the remaining sides, and over the central reservoir there is a dome supported by eight porphyry columns.[6][9] The fountain's central reservoir stands on a mosaic-tiled platform and surmounted with the bronze dome, which is raised on carved marble arches.[6] There are eight monograms in the arch stonework and they represent the political union of Abdülhamid II and Wilhelm.[7] In four of these medallions, Abdülhamid II's tughra is written on green background, and in other four Wilhelm's symbol "W" is written on a Prussian blue background. Also, over "W" there is a crown and below it a "II" is written. The fountain was surrounded with a bronze fence, but unfortunately this has been lost. The outside of the dome is ornately patterned bronze; the dome's ceiling is decorated with golden mosaics and again with Abdülhamid II's tughra and Wilhelm II's symbol.[6]
The bronze inscription on the reservoir, which was written in German, reads "Wilhelm II Deutscher Kaiser stiftete diesen Brunnen in dankbarer Erinnerung an seinen Besuch bei Seiner Maiestaet [sic] dem Kaiser der Osmanen Abdul Hamid II im Herbst des Jahres 1898" meaning "German Kaiser Wilhelm II endowed this fountain, in thankful remembrance of his visit to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II in autumn of the year 1898". There is also an Ottoman inscription in the arch of fountain, Undersecretary of Seraskery Ahmet Muhtar Bey's eight couplet history verse is written by Hattat İzzet Efendi.[6] The poem commemorates the construction of the fountain for Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul.
Incidents
The German fountain was the site of a terrorist bombing which killed 13 people (12 of them German) and injured many more on 12 January 2016.[citation needed]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Deleon, p. 195
- ^ a b c Hopkirk, p. 21
- ^ Hopkirk, p. 21-22
- ^ a b Hopkirk, p. 22
- ^ "Alman Çeşmesi". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g Deleon, p. 197
- ^ a b Maxwell, p. 87
- ^ a b c d Deleon, p. 196
- ^ "Alman Çeşmesi". Archived from the original on 5 January 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
References
- ISBN 1-74059-483-5.
- ISBN 0-19-280230-5.
- ISBN 975-14-0902-0.
External links
