The lattice on the fountain is one of the many ‘naturalistic’ artworks of the Hradec Králové vocational school for art locksmiths, designed by prof. Sedr in 1900. Miloslav Oehm participated in the creation of the lattice together with teacher Adolf Haller, Josef Lankaš, and two second-grade pupils; the entire process of making the lattice was supervised by the school headmaster Ladislav Haněl.
In 1901, the lattice was presented in Vienna at an exhibition of arts and crafts works of vocational schools, and after its completion, the school management agreed with the city council to leave it to the city. ‘It was decided to place it in a public space on today’s Žižkovo náměstí [today Velké], Square where it stands to this day.’ The lattice was then installed on a stone pedestal, which was made by master stonemason Jan Kozel according to the designs of architect Cechner.
The lattice consisted of eight fields with an Art Nouveau plant ornament representing a linden leaf, the upper part is connected by a banner in the form of a figure of a blacksmith working on an anvil.
The repairs of the lattice are mentioned in Pochodeň from 1978: ‘Not long ago, the lattice part of the fountain returned to its place on Hradec Králové’s Žižkovo náměstí Square, which was sensitively restored and completed by the Hradec Králové artist and artistic blacksmith Josef Langer.’ Langer added the city emblem of Hradec Králové to one of the fields.
JFB
Monument Preservation
The well is part of the listed the urban conservation area in Hradec Králové.
Literature
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Mříž na hradecké kašně. Pochodeň, 21–22. 1. 1978, roč. 67, č. 18, s. 5.
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SKOPEC, František. Od brány k bráně starým městem. Hradec Králové: 2006.
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MOHR, Jan a PRAŽÁKOVÁ Markéta. Minulost kovaná ze železa: Odborná škola pro umělecké zámečnictví v Hradci Králové (1874–1954). Hradec Králové: 2014.
