The mermaid well
- Niels Hansen Jacobsen (1861-1941)
General consul Peter Mathias
Wessel (27 september 1851 - 8 februar 1921) returned to Svendborg
in 1892 after living for years in Chile, where he made himself
a fortune in banking. P.M.Wessel. wished to do something for his
birthplace and asked J.F. Willumsen (famous dansih painter) to
sketch a fontain for the city. It was obvious to contact Willunsen
as he was married to Edith Wessel. Willumsen took great care in
the task. He read the story of the city and notised that that
the city has its name from trading with swine - Swineburg. The
idea of using that as inspiration wasn't accepted by the city's
counsil. Instead Willumsen worked from january 16 on another idea
involving mermaids. This was not accepted either as the coucil
ment the women figures would be offensive to the public. The project
was dropped.
Instead P.M.Wessel donated 25000 kr. to a monumental staircase
(architect Andreas Jensen), which should connect the living markedplace
withthe church above. when the task was done it turned out that
there were money left. About ten years after the establishing
of the stairs, the sum was 13500 kr. They were later used for
the Hansen Jacobsen fontain.
On 19 november 1928 cand. pharm
Richard Sand suggested the counsil to raise a fontain by Niels
Hansen Jacobsen in the marked place. One of the counsil members
had been on a visit to the sculpture in Vejen a year earlier.
At a request the first sketch Hansen Jacobsen made was based upon
the story of Fenja and Menja at the cave grainder. As Svendborg
is a port, the wish was a mermaid fountain.
After several obsticles - especially of technical type in connection
with the watersupply - the fountain was revieled on 19 november
1929, which is made in bronce.
|
The fountain on Svemdborg markedplace
1929. |
According to Svendborg Amtstidende
(newspaper) at that time, the fountain basin was casted in cooperation
with local architect Fritz Jørgensen.
In Vejen (city) artmuseum is
the most works of Niels Hansen Jacobsen.
The fountain has since had a
dark destiny. The work had to void its place to gave the motorists
the opportunity to park in the center of the marked place. The
fountain is today found badly damaged in the Moelledammen(mill
dam).
