Fontana di re Laurino - Laurinbrunnen

Fontana di re Laurino, also called Laurinbrunnen, stands in Bolzano before the entrance to Palais Widmann. The fountain presents Dietrich von Bern defeating the dwarf king Laurin. Its scene comes from the legend of King Laurin’s Rose Garden and connects the landmark with South Tyrolean storytelling. Andreas Kompatscher and Arthur Winder created the sculpture. Its first installation stood on the Bozen Wassermauer, with the Rosengarten in view. The Talferleege Culturverein commissioned it to promote Bolzano as the city of Laurin. An inscription once explained its civic purpose. Fascists demolished the fountain, after which museums in Bolzano and Rovereto held the displaced work. Cultural councillors Anton Zelger and Bruno Hosp helped return it to Bolzano. The fountain later resumed its place at Silvius-Magnago-Platz, where the Landtag building and Palais Widmann frame its setting. Its violent removal changed the meaning of the fountain. Italian and German-speaking right-wing interpretations read the figures through opposing ideas of ethnic identity and political symbolism. The fountain remains a contested subject at this prominent location.