OPOLE CERES

The Art Nouveau fountain, known as "Opole Ceres", is one of the most beautiful and oldest fountains in the entire Opolskie Voivodeship, and perhaps even in the entire country. It was built between 1904 and 1907 on what was then Friedrichsplatz (now Ignacy Daszyński Square) in Opole. The fountain was designed by Berlin sculptor Edmund Gomansky. During the work on the design and plans for the new square, there was discussion about what figure should be placed atop the fountain. Initially it was to be Minerva, the goddess of arts and crafts. Ultimately, however, they decided on Ceres, the Roman goddess of fertility, holding her daughter Proserpina in her arms. The fountain is made of sandstone. At the foot of Ceres, among the entire group of sculptures, there are figures symbolising the main branches of Opole's industry, including two women with sheaves of grain – a symbol of agriculture, men with nets – a symbol of fishing and shipping, and a miner with a pickaxe

– a symbol of Opole's cement industry. Until World War II, probably until the early 1940s, a beautiful copper openwork canopy stood above Ceres, which may have been melted down for armaments. It is also worth noting the inscription in German at the bottom of the fountain basin: "DES BÜRGERS TREU MIT FLEISS GEPAART EIN JUNGBORN GUTTER

DEUTSCHER ART" (English: "Citizen loyalty, paired with diligence, is a fountain of youth of true German nature"). DEUTSCHER ART" (English: "Citizen loyalty, paired with diligence, is a fountain of youth of true German nature"). It was discovered during the restoration of the fountain in 2010.