Neptunbrunnen

The Neptune Fountain stands in Berlin between St Mary’s Church and the Rotes Rathaus. Designed by Reinhold Begas and completed in 1891, it shows Neptune at the centre with four river goddesses around him. Each figure represents one of Prussia’s main rivers: the Elbe with fruit and corn, the Rhine with fishnet and grapes, the Vistula with logs, and the Oder with goats and skins.

The fountain once stood at Schlossplatz but was removed in 1951 when the palace was demolished. After restoration it was re-erected in 1969 at its present site. The Vistula now lies entirely in Poland, while the Oder marks the border between Germany and Poland.

Visitors find an 18-metre-wide basin with the ten-metre-high group in bronze. The rivers’ symbols appear in detail on each figure. The setting beside the red-brick town hall and the medieval church gives a quiet contrast to the fountain’s dramatic figures.