In the north-east of Munich Marienplatz is the location of the fish fountain. When the square was used as a market in the Middle Ages, fish were sold here. To this day, the fountain is a popular meeting place for locals and tourists.
Fish fountain took away Munich's fear of the plague
As early as the middle of the 14th century, there was a simple well from which water could be drawn.
When the plague was over in Munich around 450 years ago, the city's inhabitants did not dare leave their homes at first. To change this, the butchers marched through the streets singing and dancing and also jumped into the fish fountain. And the people of Munich actually came and watched this spectacle. In return, the butchers' guild received permission from the city council to repeat this parade on Shrove Monday from then on. For the butchers, this day was also a suitable opportunity to absolve their apprentices with a ritual. They had to jump into the fish fountain and were immersed.
This custom has existed for several centuries, sometimes with long interruptions. Since 1995, the historic Munich Metzgersprung has once again been held regularly, every three years, on a Sunday in September.
Only part of the fountain survived the Second World War
The fish fountain, which was similar to the current one, was designed by Konrad Knoll and completed in 1866. To commemorate the butcher's leap, it consisted of four bronze butchers with buckets, who tipped water into the fountain. Above them were four children playing music and a journeyman holding a cup.
The fountain was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War. Josef Henselmann redesigned it in 1954, using the bronze parts that were still intact. Since then, a fish has been enthroned on a column in the centre of the fountain and three surviving butchers' lads pour water into it from buckets.
The basin of the fountain is made of coarse-grained sedimentary rock from the northern foothills of the Alps. The fountain water has been coming from the Mangfalltal valley since 1884, which is commemorated by the year engraved on the edge of the basin.
Purse washing on Ash Wednesday
In addition to the butcher's leap, there is another custom that has to do with the fish fountain. Since 1426, people have traditionally met here on Ash Wednesday to wash purses. It is an old custom of the carnival guilds at the end of the carnival season. This ritual is said to prevent people from having money worries for the rest of the year. In Munich, the mayor has been washing his purse in the fountain every year on Ash Wednesday at 11.30 a.m. since the 1950s in order to secure the city's financial situation.
And similar to the Trevi Fountain in Rome, coins are thrown into the fish fountain all year round. In this way, tourists hope to come back here or simply get lucky.
