<< Other Photo Pages >> Schwanenmarkt Brunnen - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia
Submitted by Harald_Platta on Wednesday, 16 September 2020 Page Views: 3080
Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Schwanenmarkt Brunnen Alternative Name: Löwenbrunnen, Well at the Swan MarketCountry: Germany
NOTE: This site is 0.435 km away from the location you searched for.
Land: North Rhine-Westphalia Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Bochum
Latitude: 51.483750N Longitude: 7.221400E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Saint Suitbert had to flee from the pagan Saxons that conquered this area in 695. The sacred spring remained important to the people, also after Karl der Große (Charles the Great) conquered this land and had founded the city of Bochum. The well offered water also in dry years. Moreover, there are several reports that the water from the well had healing power, especially against diseases of the eyes. In the Middle Ages, the well lay just outside of the city fortification, where it formed a small pond.
One interpretation of the name ("well at the swan market") was that swans lived at the pond near the city fortification. However, another possibility is that the nearby market was used to sell pigs. The German word for pig ("Schwein") might have been exchanged during the centuries to swan ("Schwan") when refering to this site.
During the industrialization, the well lay within the growing city of Bochum. After the pond was dewatered, an impressive well monument made of red sandstone was built in 1900. The water sprang out of a lion`s mouth, which gave the well its second name: Löwenbrunnen ("lion`s well"). The water flowed through several basins of the well monument. The well monument lay in a small park, where the medieval market had been.
In the night from the 4th to the 5th November 1944, the well monument and most of the city center of Bochum were destroyed in a night of bombing. The well was lost. The remaining ruins of the well monument were removed. Today, nothing reminds of the former holy well. Also the market/park has not been reconstructed after the war. Instead, the street was made broader for the growing number of cars. Today, the former position of the well lies directly under the driving surface.
References:
[01] Sondermann, D.: Der Brunnen am Schwanenmarkt. In: Bochumer Sagenbuch (2004).
[02] Boebers-Süßmann, J.: Bochum historisch: Einst sprudelte ein Brunnen am Schwanenmarkt. In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) online (01.03.2015).
[03] Dengler, F.: Gruß aus Bochum (Nr. 17): Der Ursprung des Schwanenmarkts. In: RuhrNachrichten.de (22.09.2009).
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