When the market was redesigned in 2008/09, the central square in Oelsnitz received the attractive fountain. The water feature was designed by the Rößnitz sculptor Peter Luban. A legendary tradition, which also alludes to the nickname of the Oelsnitz, was the inspiration for the fountain. The inhabitants of the city are called "the Sperken". So it is in a legend that, according to current knowledge, goes back to the Oelsnitz author and dialect writer Karl Völkel (1869 to 1934). As he wrote in the "Leipziger Tageblatt" in 1907, a magician once transformed the Oelsnitz people into Sperken (sparrows, sparrows), just as they were about to hand over the sinister man to the pyre on the Galgenberg. The individual episodes of the legend have been implemented in the sculptures of the fountain and result in a lively splashing water feature. The fountain has become a popular meeting place for the residents of Oelsnitz and guests. Source: vogtland-tourismus.de/de/poi/brunnen/sperkenbrunnen-oelsnitz/61178321
The fountain is located on the market square in front of the town hall. The beautiful figures in the center of the fountain and the cute sparrows on the fountain's rim tell a local legend with plaques: +++ "One day, a strange fellow settled in Oelsnitz. He was tall, gaunt, and had a dull complexion. He also knew all kinds of remedies and had clairvoyant abilities. After that, things became increasingly strange in Oelsnitz. Finally, the citizens suspected the stranger of being a sorcerer. The council had him arrested. At the trial, he was proven to have practiced sorcery, and he was certain to be burned to death. News of the man's arrest and conviction reached as far as Bavaria, Bohemia, and, of course, the neighboring town of Plauen. He had already caused mischief everywhere, and so the crowd on the day of the execution was large. The executioners quickly brought the stranger to the pyre and tied him to the stake. But lighting the fire presented problems. Wherever the fire was lit, it also went out again. Now the Condemned to the gallows.
Amid shouts and curses from the onlookers, he climbed the ladder. At the top, he turned around and looked gloomily at the onlookers. They, completely silent with fear, didn't dare move. "So quiet all of a sudden, you sparrows?" he asked, flung his hat into the crowd, and all the Oelsnitz citizens were transformed into sparrows. He let out a shrill shout toward the Plauen residents who had arrived. The people disappeared, and in their place, a gusty wind blew, roaring with full force into the sparrows. Soon, the first of them lay dead on the ground. The city officials begged the stranger to lift the spell; they would spare him his life in return. But he just laughed and vanished into thin air.
For a while, total chaos reigned on Oelsnitz's gallows hill. The Plauen wind swept between headless, hand-wringing judges and screeching Oelsnitz sparrows. Then a A raven croaked on the top rung of the ladder. When peace had returned, it croaked: "Sparrows and wind, so it was and so it is until the children's children." The haunting was lifted, and the raven flew away.
Translated by Google •
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