Four sculpted ram heads with intertwined curly horns supply drinking water through pipes from their mouths on the Landsknechtbrunnen (Mercenary Fountain) in Fronwagplatz in the old town at Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland. Black rams are the heraldic symbols of both the city and canton of Schaffhausen.
Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland: four sculpted stone ram heads with intertwined horns supply drinking water via pipes from their mouths on the Landsknechtbrunnen (Mercenary Fountain), built in 1524 in Fronwagplatz in the heart of the Altstadt or old town. A black ram with raised hoofs is the emblem of both the canton and city of Schaffhausen. Above the rams on the central pillar stands a polychrome stone statue which gives the fountain its name: a heavily armed German Landsnecht or Lansquenet mercenary soldier wearing a slashed doublet, hose and codpiece and holding a halberd. He also has a gold-painted shield bearing the Schaffhausen black ram symbol. The Landsknechte were German mercenary pikemen of the late 1400s and early 1500s who fought all over Europe and were rated the most effective foot-soldiers in the world. Like their earlier Swiss rivals, the Reisläufer, they fought in tight squares of hundreds of pikemen and halberdiers that could rebuff heavy cavalry charges. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I formed the Landsknechte after admiring Swiss mercenaries in battle. They fought successfully in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Sweden, but ultimately lost their usefulness as gunpowder replaced pikes in European wars. The fountain, also known as the Lansquenet Fountain, Metzgerbrunnen (Butcher Fountain) and the Vierröhriger Brunnen (Four-tube Fountain), is one of several in the Altstadt surmounted by historic painted statues.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen canton, Switzerland
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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