The Neptune well is located in Polhov Gradec and is a specialty of the castle courtyard of Polhov Gradec manor. The well with Neptune on the middle pillar and four nymphs wears the coat of arms of Polhov Gradec nobles and is dated in second half of 17th century. It is renaissance well. The well has engraved year 1696 and was created several centuries after Ljubljana well. Novelty is the treatment of the naked body, which was rare in Renaissance.

The well is not the oldest or the most luxurious in Slovenia. It is unique in its shape, as it consists of a buried rectangular pool with central and four corner figures of mythological deities. Neptune in the middle is surrounded by four nymphs. The well, due to its shape, attracted many writes, including Valvasor, who described the well in the 17th century in the Glory of the Duchy of Carniola.

Considering the year at the rim, historical data about the manor and various interpretations of Valvasor’s publications, there are three options about the time when the well was created:

• formation before the year 1678
• the formation between year 1678 and 1688
• formation or completion in year 1696

The first year is strongly probable, which is also supported by Valvasor’s depictions, as well as today still visible ones on the other buildings in the manor courtyard, which belong to the same period – the bell in the English tower with the year 1668, sun clock on the maid’s house with year 1671. Mostly, the year coincides with the desire of that time owners to arrange the manor to their liking.

With the second option, they rely on the depictions of Valvasor but interpret them differently. First three depictions (veduta from Sketchbook, graphic from Topography and graphic number 129 from Glory) could be drawn not from a live fountain model but from plans. In these depictions, the well is shown schematically, with some visible errors. The rim is too low and undivided, pillars with statues are too high, the orientation is wrong.

The third-year is engraved in the well itself. To return to Valvasor, this could mean that he was leaning on not yet unrealized plans when depicting the courtyard. In such a case, it could be easier to explain why the graphics are different from the current state. Again, there is the main difference in the orientation of the well, as it is turned 90 degrees to the left, in which case the statues look towards the south door instead of towards the main portal of the manor. At the same time, the well stands too south, as it stands today, on the path between the portal and the entrance to the garden.

If the well was really created in the year 1696, this means that the client was not Marko Anton I since he died in year 1693, but his son Marko Anton II. Which would be logical, as today there is only his coat of arms on the rim – of the barons Billichgrätz, but not also his mother’s coat of arms.

It is most likely that the well was commissioned by Marko Anton I, before the year 1688, at the completion of XI. book of Glory. However, we cannot say whether this happened before or after year 1678. Most likely that after the death of his father, Marko Anton II wanted to engrave his stamp on Neptune’s well, replacing the front three plaques with new ones. It is unlikely that he changed the position and orientation of the well. Therefore, the irregularities in the depictions could only be beauty corrections, to make the well more photogenic.

Valvasor described the well in Polhov Gradëz in the year 1688 with the following words: »Mitten im Hofe / gleich vor dem Schloß / steht ein Spring − Brunn von künstlich = ausgehauenen Stein / mit schönen Bildern und Seulen ausgeziert.« These are also the words that make it believable that the well was created during the time of Mark Anton I.

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Polhov Gradec
Polhov Gradec is a settlement with rich cultural history and at the same, it is a center of upper Gradaščica valley and Polhov Gradec hills. It is only 17 kilometers away from the capital, it is located at altitude 397 meters. Above old village center is elevation Stari grad – Kalvarija, which reaches 460 meters. [_Read more_]