Hydrants changing with the times
- The history of hydrantism -

Time catches up with things, and with me too, as I have been invited to write a few lines about “my hydrants” .

Since I exhibited my hydrants again in 1995 in the Baroque church of S. Andreas in Düsseldorf, a lot has been said and written about them. These things have probably been stated from a direct view, definitely also from a reflective standpoint in the guise of a review or of a well-meaning opening speech, but never from the point of view of the painter. The question: “...what is the artist trying to tell us?” remains, and is answered to an extent in the foreground by the fact that he paints (from) an object, namely a hydrant. This should answer the question. But the “Why?” still remains.

In 1986, the former port director in Düsseldorf, Franz F. Blumenroth, invited the ‘Von Kunst Zu Kunst’ ('From Art to Art') group of artists, consisting of about 15 painters and sculptors, to exhibit in a former warehouse for the 90th anniversary of the port.

The group of artists, of which I was part, espoused the cause of putting on thematic exhibitions in unusual places. The port setting and the water inspired them to create the title "Ludwig Duscht".The hall was filled with paintings and objects from and inspired by the port, including a hydrant, placed at my disposal by the port management as an original and illustrative object. The picture that I painted based on it was over 2 metres high and aroused interest. The exhibition was such an overall success that the port management let the artists have the former warehouse building Zollhof 3 as a further exhibition area. This building continued to be used until it was demolished in 1991.

The exhibits and events that were put on with a high level of personal commitment from the artists even led to the founding of several associations such as ‘Kunst im Hafen e.V.’

In the period between the demolition and the reconstruction of the Zollhof site in 1996, a hydrant stood beside the vacant lot.

When I visited the area during that time, it often seemed to me as if it was just waiting to be discovered. For a long time, nothing happened, the spark of an idea was missing.

One day in late 94/early 95 in my atelier in Düsseldorf, as the temperature dropped and the snowflakes outside only intensified the desire for warmth inside, when the coal oven was far too small and took hours to heat the room up, I again thought of my hydrant outside. Don’t hydrants freeze up? Don’t they have to be maintained so that if there is a fire they can be used immediately? I phoned the Fire Brigade and they told me that the answer was no. Today hydrants are underground. The other type of street hydrants, such as the one at Zollhof, are no longer used.

This aroused my interest.

I put a series of illustrations on a screen, and combined them with geometrical patterns, my shadow and various colours that I applied to the transparent screen as if accidentally. ‘Hydrantism’ was born.

The depictions of the heavy, cast-iron hydrants on a transparent screen became the subject of my painting. Since then, the hydrant has been gaining more and more space and reality in my artistic language. In this way, I have developed and refined the possibilities of painting to the point that the last hydrants I painted appeared as if dyed onto the screen and are visible from both sides. There is no longer a front and a back; the final impression of the picture does not appear until the screen turns freely in the room and light flows through it.

Since then, hydrantism has spilled over into the port, like a burning torch looking for nourishment, and continues to burn independently. The city of Düsseldorf has reacted positively to my application and has so far placed preservation orders on 20 hydrants.

According to the report of the Rheinischen Amt für Denkmalpflege (Rhine Office for the Preservation of Historic Monuments) in Pulheim (Brauweiler) “…They refer to the original, technical operation of the port, the material handling and fire-fighting methods of the historic port system. There is a public interest in maintaining them, as they were significant for the cities and settlements and for the development of working and production conditions. They are also of scientific interest, since they provide information concerning details of historic port operation and the appearance of Düsseldorf port, which is more than 100 years old.”

Thus, like the hydrants in the ‘Speditionsstraße’ which stand at the corner of every building, although they are now in decay, they still give the impression of a new beginning, damage limitation and reparation after loss has occurred. They act as both a guide and a warning at the same time. Every one of the twenty hydrants has its own history and an unmistakable face. As the silent witness of a time gone by, they are a reminder of protection, provision of water and they give a feeling of security. They continue to be a source of ideas and inspiration. In this way, they enter into a dialogue with us: A new task and era has burst open for the sturdy water people.

Wolfgang Wimhöfer


Expert´s Report Statement
- Düsseldorf harbour -
Hydrant facility on Kaistraße, Franziusstraße, Speditionsstraße, Kesselstraße, Weizenmühlenstraße, Holzstraße

1 History
After 1890, Düsseldorf port was created as a new integrated facility. Its first development phase with petroleum mountain, commercial, wood and security port was completed in 1896. Further north between 1898-1902, the new Rhine dockyard was extended as a lower dockyard and upper traffic road. Between 1904-1907, a further dock was added south of the security port. The Düsseldorf port was an exemplary, modern facility. Thus, it was geared to electrical operation from the outset and was connected with road traffic by an extensive rail network. Even the fire-fighting equipment was totally up-to-date: the entire port area was covered with a standard network of fire hydrants, that had been connected to the municipal water supply (Karnau, P.170). This standard equipment was also used for the port expansion until 1907. The new dock also had its own fire extinguishing system (Karnau P.220).

2 Description
The hydrants included in the fire extinguishing system of Düsseldorf port described under 1 consist of cast-iron hydrants produced by various manufacturers and of varying ages. It has been established that the cast iron hydrants were manufactured by the following companies:

1)   Vereinigte Armaturenwerke GmbH, Mannhein   - VAG
2)   Armaturen Werk Kaiserslautern  - AWK
3)   Mittelmann Wülfrath  - MW

The age of the hydrants is between about 100 and approx. 40 years. Almost all of them are marked with indenture numbers. The following list includes the systems that have been traced according to the installation areas – and if available – the indenture numbers:

Quantity	No.	Manufacturer	Location
14	-	-	East bank of the commercial port along the Kaistraße
1	-		South end of the commercial port, in front of Kaistr. 2a
1	38	VAG	South end of the commercial port, in front of Kaistr. 2a
1	37	VAG	Kaisstr./Franziusstr.
1	-	AWK	Speditionsstr., at the level of Küppersmühle
1	44	VAG	Speditionsstr., at the level of Silo
1	45	VAG	Speditionsstr. 13
1	47	VAG	Speditionsstr. 17
1	-	VAG	Speditionsstr. 17a
1	49	VAG	Speditionsstr. 21
1	50	MW	Speditionsstr. 20
1	69	AWK	Weizenmühlenstr./Holzstr.
1	70	VAG	in front of the Muskator management building
1	71	VAG	in front of the Muskator management building
1	75	VAG	Weizenmühlenstr. 14
1	76	-	Weizenmühlenstr. 11
1	77	-	Weizenmühlenstr. 13
1	78	-	Weizenmühlenstr. opposite the firm Deuka

The following historic technical systems associated with shipping are also to be listed:

1) Cast-iron water tap connection, manufacturer VAG, dated 1950, location: southern end of the commercial port
2) 6 cast-iron bollards, location: west side of the commercial port

3 Evaluation
The technical devices associated with handling operation of Düsseldorf port have largely disappeared as their use has been changed. The only historically significant crane has been removed from the site.

Against this background, the clearly perceptible elements of technical operation in the appearance of the port, such as hydrants, water removal points, capstans and bollards, have increased in significance. In conjunction with the docks, they refer to the original, technical operation of the port, the material handling and fire-fighting methods of the historical port system.
For these reasons, as listed under 2), they are to be classified as monuments in accordance with § 2 paragraph 1 DschG NW. There is a public interest in maintaining them as they were significant for the cities and settlements and to the development of working and product conditions. They are also of scientific interest, since they provide information concerning details of historic port operation and the appearance of the port which is over 100 years old.

Rhine Office for the Preservation of Historic Monuments, Puhlheim, Germany

May 1996

Axel Föhl

Public relations office, Düsseldorf
- Technical heritage -

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