The German Fountain (; ) is a

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

styled fountain in the northern end of the former

Hippodrome of Constantinople The Hippodrome of Constantinople (; ; ) was a Roman circus, circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square in Istanbul, Turkey, known as Sultanahmet Square (). The word ...

(Sultanahmet Square) in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and across from the Mausoleum of Sultan

Ahmed I Ahmed I ( '; ; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth, Ottoman rulers would no ...

. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of

German Emperor The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

's visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled on its current site in 1900. The neo-Byzantine style fountain's octagonal

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

has eight

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

columns, and dome's interior is covered with golden

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

History

The idea of

Great Palace of Constantinople The Great Palace of Constantinople (, ''Méga Palátion''; ), also known as the Sacred Palace (, ''Hieròn Palátion''; ), was the large imperial Byzantine palace complex located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula today making up the Fati ...

's Empire Lodge (

Kathisma A kathisma (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, ''kai-isma''), literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic churches. The word may also describe a hymn sung at Matins, a ...

) being on the site of the German Fountain's, conflicts with the view that Carceres Gates of Hippodrome were found on the site of the fountain however, the hypothesis of Carceres Gates being on the site enforces the view that

Quadriga A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in classical antiquity and the Roman Empire. The word derives from the Latin , a contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke. In Latin the word is almos ...

Lysippos Lysippos (; ) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic period. Problems confron ...

was used to stand on the site of the German Fountain.Deleon, p. 195 During his reign as

and King of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

visited several European and Eastern countries. His trip started in

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

on 18 October 1898 during the reign of

Abdülhamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a period of decline wit ...

.Hopkirk, p. 21 According to

Peter Hopkirk Peter Stuart Hopkirk (15 December 1930 – 22 August 2014) was a British journalist, author and historian who wrote six books about the British Empire, Russia and Central Asia. Biography Peter Hopkirk was born in Nottingham, the son of Frank St ...

, the visit to the Ottoman Empire was an ego trip but also had long-term motivations. The Emperor's primary motivation for visiting was to gain approval for the construction of the

Berlin–Baghdad railway The Baghdad railway, also known as the Berlin–Baghdad railway (, , , ), was started in 1903 to connect Berlin with the then Ottoman Empire, Ottoman city of Baghdad, from where the Germans wanted to establish a port on the Persian Gulf, wit ...

, which would run from Berlin to the Persian Gulf, and would further connect to British India through Persia. The railway could provide a short and quick route from Europe to Asia, and could carry German exports, troops and artillery.Hopkirk, p. 21-22 At the time, the Ottoman Empire could not afford such a railway, and Abdülhamid II was grateful for Wilhelm's offer, but was suspicious over the German motives.Hopkirk, p. 22 Abdülhamid II's secret service believed that German archaeologists in the Emperor's retinue were in fact geologists with designs on the oil wealth of the Ottoman empire. Later, the secret service uncovered a German report, which noted that the oilfields in Mosul, northern Mesopotamia were richer than those in the Caucusus. On his first visit, Wilhelm secured the sale of German-made rifles to the Ottoman Army, and on his second visit he secured a promise for German companies to construct the Istanbul-Baghdad railway. The German Government constructed the German Fountain for Wilhelm II and Empress Augusta's 1898 Istanbul visit. According to Afife Batur, the fountain's plans were drawn by architect Spitta and constructed by architect Schoele, also German architect Carlitzik and Italian architect Joseph Anthony worked on this project.Deleon, p. 197 According to the Ottoman inscription, the fountain's construction started in the

Hejira The Hijrah, () also Hegira (from Medieval Latin), was the journey the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the epoch of the Lunar Hijri and Sola ...

1319 (1898–1899),Maxwell, p. 87 although the inauguration of the fountain was planned to take place on 1 September 1900 – the 25th anniversary of Abdülhamid II's ascension to the throne. Construction, however, could not finish at the planned time and it was instead inaugurated on 27 January 1901, which was Wilhelm II's birthdate. Marble, stone and gem parts of the fountain were constructed in Germany and transported piece by piece to Istanbul by ships.

Architecture

The German Fountain was constructed on the site where there was a tree which is known as Vakvak Tree () or The Bloody

Plane Plane most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface * Plane (mathematics), generalizations of a geometrical plane Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane ...

().Deleon, p. 196 In the 1656

janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

rebellion,

Mehmed IV Mehmed IV (; ; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693), nicknamed as Mehmed the Hunter (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of six after his father was overthrown in a coup. Mehmed went on to b ...

yielded a number of officials to the demands of the rebels and these victims, when killed, were suspended on the Plane in the Hippodrome.

Boynuyaralı Mehmed Pasha Boynuyaralı Mehmed Pasha (born:1576 Canik died 1665 in Eyüp, Istanbul), also known as Boynueğri Mehmed Pasha, was an Ottoman statesman. He was grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 26 April 1656 to 15 September 1656. Mehmed Pasha fought i ...

overcame this rebellion, which took two months and named Vak'a-i Vakvakiye, after becoming

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

. The plane named after Seçere-i Vakvak (Vakvak Tree) which believed to be in

Jahannam In Islam, Jahannam () is the place of punishment for Islamic views on sin, evildoers in the afterlife, or hell. This notion is an integral part of Islamic theology,#ETISN2009, Thomassen, "Islamic Hell", ''Numen'', 56, 2009: p.401 and has occupied ...

and its fruits are human heads.The neo-Byzantine style octagonal fountain stands on a base with eight steps rising up to an entry gate. There are seven brass fountain spouts over basins on the remaining sides, and over the central reservoir there is a dome supported by eight

porphyry Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to: Geology * Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material * Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...

columns. The fountain's central reservoir stands on a mosaic-tiled platform and surmounted with the bronze dome, which is raised on carved marble arches. There are eight monograms in the arch stonework and they represent the political union of Abdülhamid II and Wilhelm. In four of these medallions, Abdülhamid II's

tughra A tughra (; ) is a calligraphy, calligraphic monogram, Seal (emblem), seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the Tamga, tamgha, it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the co ...

is written on green background, and in other four Wilhelm's symbol "W" is written on a Prussian blue background. Also, over "W" there is a crown and below it a "II" is written. The fountain was surrounded with a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

fence, but unfortunately this has been lost. The outside of the dome is ornately patterned bronze; the dome's ceiling is decorated with golden mosaics and again with Abdülhamid II's tughra and Wilhelm II's symbol. The bronze inscription on the reservoir, which was written in German, reads "''Wilhelm II Deutscher Kaiser stiftete diesen Brunnen in dankbarer Erinnerung an seinen Besuch bei Seiner Maiestaet icdem Kaiser der Osmanen Abdul Hamid II im Herbst des Jahres 1898''" meaning "German Kaiser Wilhelm II endowed this fountain, in thankful remembrance of his visit to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II in autumn of the year 1898". There is also an Ottoman inscription in the arch of fountain, Undersecretary of

Serasker ''Serasker'', or ''seraskier'' (; ), is a title formerly used in the Ottoman Empire for a vizier who commanded an army. Following the suppression of the Janissaries in 1826, Sultan Mahmud II transferred the functions of the old Agha of the Ja ...

y Ahmet Muhtar Bey's eight couplet history verse is written by Hattat İzzet Efendi. The poem commemorates the construction of the fountain for Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul.

Incidents

The German fountain was the site of a terrorist bombing which killed 13 people (12 of them German) and injured many more on 12 January 2016.

Notes

References

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External links