The first time I laid eyes on the Ratsherrenbrunnen (Councilmember Fountain) remains etched into my memory. In our current political climate, I have often contemplated the relevancy of this one-of-a-kind fountain. The Ratsherrenbrunnen stands in the town square of Linz am Rhein (Linz on the Rhine River), a small town with less than 6,000 inhabitants in the German State of Rhineland-Palatinate. Located on the right bank of the Rhine River – the sunny side of the river – as Linzers will tell y0u, the community is nestled roughly between Bonn, the former German capital, and Koblenz. Colorful half-timbered houses, spanning five centuries, surround the town’s market square. But the most unusual and striking feature is the fountain in the center of town.
Ratsherrenbrunnen (Councilmember fountain)
The Ratsherrenbrunnen stands in front of the town’s city hall. The attraction is not the water feature itself, but the artwork that adorns it. Seated on the rim of the fountain are bronze replicas of the city’s mayor and its councilmembers. Their heads, legs and arms are movable and can be manipulated at will by passersby. From the top of the fountain the citizens of Linz watch their council members at work. With this 1993 creation, the sculptor Bonifatius Stirnberg reminds the town’s politicians that they serve at the pleasure of the people and that they are accountable to the citizens who keep a watchful eye on their elected politicians.
Ratsherrenbrunnen (Councilmember fountain) in Linz, Germany, reminding politicians that they serve at the pleasure of and are accountable to the people. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2012. www.walled-in-berlin.com
It seems to me that it might not be a bad time for us to remind our own politicians that they, too, are accountable to the electorate. Do we need similar fountains in front of the White House and the State Capitols to drive that message home?
Brief History of Linz
Linz, originally called “Lincesce,” was first mentioned in 874, although the town is undoubtedly much older. The Archbishop of Cologne, Heinrich II of Vimeburg, one of the electors of the Holy Roman Empire, awarded Linz the city status in the early 1300s. In 1365, the town started to build Burg Linz (Castle Linz), and the town hall was constructed in 1517. In 1815, Linz became part of Prussia, and one year later, Linz became a Kreisstadt (district town). But it lost that status again only six years later when it became part of Neuwied county. In 1946, following World War II, Linz was incorporated into the Rhineland-Palatinate.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: accountability to the electorate, Bonifatius Stirnberg, Burg Linz, Councilmember fountain, Germany, Heinrich II of Vimeburg, Linz am Rhein, Linz Castle, Linz on the Rhein River, Metaphor, political relevancy, Ratsherrenbrunnen
