Margrave August Georg, the last regent of the Catholic line of the House of Baden, obtained the beatification of Margrave Bernhard II of Baden, who died of the plague in Italy in 1458, in 1769. In his honor and as a sign of the Catholic tradition of the House of Baden, August Georg and his wife Maria Viktoria donated this fountain.
The Karlsruhe sculptor Ignaz Lengelacher made the statue of the margrave from Maulbronn sandstone. The front of the fountain bears a relief of August Georg. His wife, Maria Viktoria, is named on the back.
Children discover Rastatt:
Rastatt's baroque buildings include the magnificent Rastatt Palace, the town church of St. Alexander and the St. Bernard's Fountain with its statue of Margrave Bernhard von Baden.
People used to have to fetch their water from wells. There was only a water pipe as far as the castle. However, this ended in the castle courtyard. The Bernhardusbrunnen was also an ornamental fountain and memorial.
The Bernhardusbrunnen is the youngest and most beautiful of the baroque town fountains. The water leaps from the jaws of two dolphins. This fountain supplied the town's inhabitants with drinking water. Water was important for drinking and cooking. But washing and bathing were not so important for people in the Baroque period. They were afraid that water could make them ill. So they simply rubbed themselves dry and thought it was great. But in reality, they really stank. Rich people tried to cover up unpleasant body odor with lots of perfume and powder. Even the baroque mice went along with this fashion!
