Singold

The Singold is one of four life-sized bronze river gods seated on the marble rim of the Augustus Fountain in Augsburg. A figure of Emperor Augustus, the city's founder, stands at the middle of the basin. You find the fountain in the political centre of the Renaissance city, near the town hall and the Perlach Tower.

Hubert Gerhard created the fountain between 1589 and 1594, with Peter Wagner doing the casting. This late Mannerist design drew on Giambologna, and its figure placement and basin shape were new for southern Germany. Each god personifies one of Augsburg's main waters: the Lech, the Wertach, the Brunnenbach and the Singold. Two of the figures are male and two are female. Of the four, the Brunnenbach is an artificial channel built to supply drinking water. Water for the basin came from the Box Tower of the waterworks at the Red Gate. The expensive bronze underlined the significance of water for the city.

Marble pillars, bronze herms, cupids and a wrought iron grid with spiral vines and spindle flowers adorn the fountain. Four fire-gilded panels on the pedestal carry dedications to Augustus, Emperor Rudolf II and Johannes Welser. With the Hercules and Mercury fountains, the ensemble forms a trio recognised as part of Augsburg's UNESCO World Heritage. The figures you see at the fountain are copies. The Maximilian Museum keeps the originals, the Singold among them, safe from environmental damage and vandalism.