Local Medievalism: Bernward’s Doors, Hezilo’s Chandelier, and the Memorial Fountain for the Synagogue at Lappenberg in Hildesheim

Abstract

This article discusses a fountain erected in 1988 in memory of the Hildesheim Synagogue at Lappenberg, which was destroyed during Kristallnacht. It traces the relationship between this modern monument and Hildesheim’s rich artistic heritage, mostly from the Middle Ages and centered around the Christian Church. Based on the artists’ choice of technique and materials, as well as on an analysis of some of the monument’s iconography, the layout of its motifs, and its overall composition, the article argues that, although (and because?) the fountain commemorates a synagogue, it must have been expressly designed to evoke Hildesheim’s (Christian) cultural and historical memory so as to elicit the empathy of the local population.