Lindwurmbrunnen

The Lindwurmbrunnen (German: Lindworm fountain) is a civic monument in Klagenfurt, Austria. It consists of a large sculpture of a lindworm or dragon, a statue of Hercules that is sometimes referred to as a "dragon slayer", and a fountain. It is located on the main square of the city, Neuer Platz. The installation of a monumental fountain was partially prompted by a severe city fire in 1514. Work began in 1590 but the monument was not entirely finished until 1636. The sculpture of the dragon is often attributed to sculptor Ulrich Vogelsang, but the attribution is uncertain. The sculpture of Hercules was made by Michael Hönel. The sculpture of the dragon plays a role in the history of palaeontology. It has been assumed, first by palaeontologist Franz Unger in 1840, to have been inspired by the skull of a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) that was discovered in a gravel pit outside Klagenfurt in 1335. For this reason, the sculpture has been cited as "the earliest reconstruction of an extinct animal". However, critics have pointed to the lack of any conclusive evidence of a direct artistic inspiration between the skull and the dragon sculpture, and the theory has also been called an example of "forced euhemerism".