Walter Schott (1861 – 1938), Professor and Sculptor at the Berlin Academy, was one of the main representatives of the Neo-Baroque School of Sculpture at the time of Kaiser Wilhelm II. He created various monuments and sculptures for the Berlin Cathedral, as well as sculptural elements for the New Palais in Potsdam.
His most important work, however, is the world-renowned “Fountain of the Nymphs”, created in 1903 in the Art-Nouveau style. It is also called “Fountain of the three Dancing Girls” and cast in bronze. More originals can be found in the Central Park of New York, in San Francisco, Antwerp and a diplomatic villa in Berlin. We are particularly proud of being able to host an original of this fountain in our park.
Dr. Emil Georg von Stauss, head of the board of the Deutsche Bank and chairman of the UfA film company in Berlin, was proprietor of Burg Schlitz from 1932 – 1945 and acquired this fountain in 1934 for his summer residence. In summer the “Fountain of the Nymphs” is appreciated by rare species of birds as their bird-bath, and occasionally a frog does not mind a refreshment, either. It offers a special sight for the visitors of our English Landscape Park at any season.
The delicately spraying jet of water sprinkles the life-size figures of the dancing girls, giving them an enchanting dynamic by which they seem to float as light as feathers and appear to be clothed with almost translucent robes.