20-Jul-2005

"Sophienquelle" (Sophie's Spring) bubbling again! - about the restoration of the old baroque spring catchment


Thanks to the generous donations from "Altstadtfreunde Altdorf" and "Raiffeisenbank" in 2004 the trust "Stromersche Kulturgut-, Denkmal- und NaturStiftung" could tackle the restoration of "Sophienquelle".
For one year, Dipl.-Geol. Ute Zimmer investigated the root causes for the water having ceased to flow through the topmost bowl of the spring and why the stair cases became more and more damaged. It turned out that due to the construction of the nearby road junction the catchment area had diminished by one third. Additionally, a hill slide has caused a crack in the sand stone water channel. Through this crack a portion of the water directly flew into the basin and also under the staircases. After Mrs. Zimmer had sealed the crack, the water flew again as originally intended. Also, in the last winter there were no icicles anymore at the stairs. This indicates that the water is not taking wrong paths anymore.
The donations and revenues of the concerts also rendered it possible to lift the base of the the water basin of the spring. This had heavily settled over time and become a danger for people walking in the basin. There was even sufficient money left for repairing the damage in the apsis of the balustrade. 20 years ago a vandal had cut a huge block out of the balustrade. In May 2005, stone mason Vestner from Altdorf closed the gap by inserting a new sand stone.

Now the trust is hoping that this publicly accessble monument which is loved by all people will be handled very carefully. Because it is only maintained by the trust and only by donations. It is written in the stars whether such a massive financial effort like the last can be repeated and whether such generous donations will be obtained again.
Therefore we ask all visitors to treat this unique baroque monument with extreme care: do not throw anything into the basin, do not scratch the soft sand stone, do not clime in the rocks which are prone to sliding and last but not least do not let your dogs bath in the water. Many people drink the water and it is flowing to the fish pond where very sensitive fishes are to grow. Following those rules shall ensure that many people can enjoy the spring for many more years!


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