Neptune Fountain in Gliwice

The Neptune Fountain stands in the western part of the market square in Gliwice. It is a monument entered in the register of movable monuments of the Silesian Voivodeship and one of the oldest civic ornaments of the square.

Who built it and when

The fountain was made in 1794. It was made by Johannes Nitsche, a Baroque sculptor from Opava. The sculpture shows Neptune with a trident in his right hand, sitting on a dolphin. It is made of sandstone and stands on a plinth inside a square basin.

Where the nickname “George with the pitchfork” comes from

In the second half of the 19th century the fountain became a favourite feature of the Gliwice landscape, and residents called it “George with the pitchfork” (German Gabeljürge, Silesian-German Gabeljerge). The trident in the hand of the god of the seas simply looked like a pitchfork to them.

In his work “The World of Gliwice Legends” Edmund Całka gives the following story of its origin. The Prussian authorities assigned the town hall to a regiment of dragoons and wanted to make a wooden trough for watering the horses, but the town councillors did not like the idea, so a fountain was commissioned instead. This is a tale from a collection of legends, not a documented fact.

Practical information

• Location: the western part of the market square in Gliwice.
• The fountain is part of the historic market square, so it is seen on a walk around the old town.