Paucksch Fountain, Gorzów Wielkopolski

Paucksch Fountain - a fountain in Gorzów Wielkopolski.

In 1896 the entrepreneur Hermann Paucksch from Gorzow founded the fountain named after him, which was opened in 1897. The sculptor Cuno von Uechtritz-Steinkirch created a slender stone pillar in the pool, on which he placed a bronze figure of a strong woman. The figure is carrying a bucket on her shoulders, on chains of which buckets are suspended. The figure symbolizes the industriousness of the citizens of Gorzów and the life-giving nature of the Warta river. At the feet of the woman sit three figures of children, symbolizing the economic base of the city at that time. The boy with a hammer and a cogwheel symbolizes industry, the girl with a fishing rod symbolizes fishing, and the girl with a net and a ship in a tank at the feet of the main figure symbolizes sailing.

The fountain is located in the Old Market next to the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The current sculpture is a faithful reconstruction of the original, which at the end of World War II was dismantled and melted down for war purposes by the Germans.

In the second half of the 1970s, the fountain was decorated with the sculpture "Prządki" by Zofia Bilińska, an artist from Gorzów.

In the 1990s, Bilińska prepared a faithful copy of the pre-war original of the three figures placed on the fountain. A special commission, consisting of former German inhabitants of Landsberg, experts of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and representatives of the authorities of Gorzów Wielkopolski, approved the sculptor's reconstruction.

On July 2, 1997, on the 740th anniversary of Gorzów Wielkopolski, in the presence of Eberhard and Wolfhart Pauksch, grandson and great-grandson of the fountain's founder, a ceremonial unveiling of the sculptures took place.

In July 2007 Gorzów Wielkopolski celebrated its 750th anniversary. On this occasion the Polish Post issued a commemorative postage stamp showing the fountain.