Featured: How and why the ancients enchanted Great Britain and Brittany

How and why the ancients enchanted Great Britain and Brittany

Random Image


Muirkirk Stane

Temples of Stone: Exploring the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland

Temples of Stone: Exploring the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland

Who's Online

There are currently, 553 guests and 2 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< 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 Market
Country: 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:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
Destroyed Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

Internal Links:
External Links:

Schwanenmarkt Brunnen
Schwanenmarkt Brunnen submitted by Creative Commons : The picture from 1908 shows the former Schwanenmarkt Brunnen in Bochum (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). According to local legends, it is situated at the site of a former holy well of the Bructeri. Von nicht bekannt - [1], PD-alt-100, Link (Vote or comment on this photo)
Saint Suitbert came to the Ruhr area in the late 7th century, after he was active as a missionary in Frisia. He wanted to convert the Bructeri, a pagan Germanic tribe, to Christianity. For this reason, he rededicated the holy well of the Bructeri to a Christian sacred spring. The well was destroyed by British bombs in 1944, along with most of the city centre of Bochum.

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).

You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Schwanenmarkt Brunnen
Schwanenmarkt Brunnen submitted by Harald_Platta : Historical postcard. It displays the well monument of the Schwanenmarkt Brunnen, which was located in a small park. The well and also the park have been destroyed in World War II. Today, this site lies under the driving surface of a street. Picture taken from the press release: "Gruß aus Bochum: Der Ursprung des Schwanenmarkts." from the news portal RuhrNachrichten.de. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Flickr
de ondergrondse
P1700066
P1700061
P1700059
P1700058
P1700057

The above images may not be of the site on this page, but were taken nearby. They are loaded from Flickr so please click on them for image credits.


Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive map of the area

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 380m N 359° Granit Bleu de Vire, geschnitten* Modern Stone Circle etc
 390m NE 51° Die Familie (Steinkreis)* Modern Stone Circle etc
 668m NNW 334° Deutsches Bergbau Museum Bochum* Museum
 715m NW 312° Brunstein* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 850m SE 142° Bochumer Zentrum für Stadtgeschichte* Museum
 1.6km ESE 106° Wirmerstraße LBK-Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
 1.8km SSE 151° Geologischer Garten Bochum* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 1.9km E 92° Buselohstrasse Rössen-Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
 1.9km NNE 13° EUROPA-Begegnungsstätte (Steinkreis)* Modern Stone Circle etc
 1.9km ESE 120° Gerichtsplatz an der Femlinde (Bochum)* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
 2.1km ESE 116° Trilith (Bielfeld)* Modern Stone Circle etc
 2.5km SSE 157° Siedlung an der Universitätsstrasse* Ancient Village or Settlement
 3.1km NE 52° Harpener Ringofen Neolithic Settlements* Ancient Village or Settlement
 3.5km ESE 104° Sudbeckenpfad* Ancient Village or Settlement
 3.5km NE 55° Circular Henge Bochum-Harpen* Henge
 3.8km NNE 32° Constantin LBK-Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
 3.9km ENE 61° Oval Henge Bochum-Harpen* Henge
 4.0km ENE 66° Auf dem Anger - Rössen Settlement * Ancient Village or Settlement
 4.0km E 98° Square Henge Bochum-Laer* Henge
 4.3km ENE 63° Auf dem Knust Rössen Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
 4.4km SSW 207° Relatum I* Modern Stone Circle etc
 4.5km ENE 74° Ruhr-Park Rössen Settlement Ancient Village or Settlement
 4.5km NE 53° Blenne Quelle* Holy Well or Sacred Spring
 5.0km WSW 238° Summstein Widar* Modern Stone Circle etc
 5.0km SSE 149° Bochum-Querenburg* Ancient Village or Settlement
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Bozdag Roman Dam

Venta Icenorum >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Prehistoric Dorset

Prehistoric Dorset

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Schwanenmarkt Brunnen" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Schwanenmarkt Brunnen by Harald_Platta on Wednesday, 16 September 2020
(User Info | Send a Message)
Thank you very much for including this on the front page. After reading the summary, I would like to point out that I did not use the term "British bombs" in the original text. I had just mentioned the time point of the bombing, which of course means that it had to be carried out by British aircraft.
I assume that a certain British editor had put together the final abstract for the home page. Therefore I guess that it will in alright.
In summary, the general story, very possibly not limited to this site, will gain more relevance if it is not restricted to local events.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Schwanenmarkt Brunnen by Andy B on Wednesday, 16 September 2020
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Thanks Harald, yes I added that for more impact with our international readers as I found it a shocking discovery. It’s not intended to be a reflection on you. Sorry if it appeared that way. Some Brits love to go on about the war but they rarely hear of things like this.
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Schwanenmarkt Brunnen by Harald_Platta on Wednesday, 16 September 2020
      (User Info | Send a Message)
      Thank you Andy. I also had the general picture in mind. I also think it should be alright to tell the local parts of the history - as parts of a general picture - on either side of the channel, especially if they reach back into prehistory. Thank you for your comment. I fully understand and I am completely on your side.
      [ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.