A large fountain was built on "Teatro aikšte" (Theatre Square) in Klaipeda, Lithuania,
in honour of
Simon Dach, a German poet of the Baroque period. The fountain
was originally created in 1912 by the sculptor Arnold Künne (1866 - 1942). The
bronze figure on top
of it depicts "Ännchen von Tharau"
(Annie from Tharau), a poem by Simon Dach, which was written in 1636 on the
occasion of the marriage of Anna Neander, the daughter of a person from
Tharau. The text of the third verse is engraved around the base beneath the
figure: "Annie from Tharau, my wealth, my good. You my soul, my flesh and my
blood!"
Below the figure is a relief, made by the sculptor
Harald Haacke, showing the poet's head and below it his name and the year of
his birth and death, 1605 - 1659.
Water pours from several jets into a large basin.
1939 the memorial was moved to a different location and was replaced in
1945 by a Stalin bust.
In 1988 Harald Haacke recreated a new figure in Mainz, Germany, as the
original figure had disappeared. It was cast in bronze in the same year and
shipped to Klaipeda. The new fountain was inaugurated in 1989.