Commemorating the founding of Berlin: the town seal and the founding fountain
Berlin sculptor and medallist Gerhard Thieme designed the seal, a round memorial plaque, in 1987 based on an idea by architect Günter Stahn. It is made of bronze, has an impressive diameter of 2.20 m and is located a few meters from the entrance to the Nikolaikirche. The bronze plate represents the first Berlin town seal and marks the place where Berlin became a city. The text around its edge recalls that the Ascanian margraves Otto III and Johann I once granted city privileges to Berlin, which until then had merely been a trading center around the Nikolaikirche and Molkenmarkt. Although Berlin was first mentioned in a document in 1244, Cölln was already mentioned on October 28, 1237, which is why 1237 is considered the official year of the city’s founding.
The founding fountain is just a few steps away from the town seal. Shaded by trees and surrounded by benches, it invites you to linger while listening to the sound of the burbling water. On the outside of the natural stone basin are reliefs of the seals of the so-called Viergewerke. In the Middle Ages and early modern times, these were the most important trade associations in a city, which also had an influence on city politics through the position of councillors. The guilds of Berlin and Cölln were led by the bakers, butchers, shoemakers and tailors, and pretzels can be seen on the seals, symbolizing the bakers, for example.
The water-dispensing central column rises above the basin. On its top sits Berlin’s heraldic animal – a bear holding a shield with the Ascanian eagle of Margraves Otto III and Johann I. The heraldic sculpture and the sandstone reliefs were also designed by Gerhard Thieme. The fountain is enclosed in a decorative and transparent manner by a forged finial, which offers symbolic protection to the bear sitting on the pedestal. The finial was designed and crafted by the Berlin ornamental blacksmith H. J. Kunsch.