This was an obvious choice, as the fountain named after the sculptor Manzel stood in front of the magnificent new building of the Minden district government on the Weserglacis. The mocking name of the bathing government councillor can be understood as an allusion to the cumbersome and labour-intensive work of the authorities or as an allusion to the status of senior employees who could not manage without "water carriers".

In 1906, a new building with an elaborate interior and exterior design was built between the glacis and Klausenwall for the Prussian district government, which had previously had its increasingly cramped headquarters at the  Großer   Domhof. With the construction of the government building  the area of the Weserglacis formerly located in front of the city wall was also to be remodelled. This  included the fountain with the group of figures.
The  new construction of the district government including the outbuildings, the procurement of the furniture and the design of the Weserglacis  including the fountain cost 1,253,200 marks.The design  of the  fountain  was  by the Berlin sculptor  Karl Ludwig  Manzel, who received a fee of 30,000 marks for this work.

The three male figures "in  heroic  nudity" are warriors who are only  recognisable as such by their helmets and  swords. One warrior protectively carries  his wounded  comrade. A third draws water at their  feet  for the 'wounded man from the  well basin. 

"The healing power of  water" can be interpreted in different ways. "Superficially, it shows camaraderie and  mutual assistance", according to  the  art historians Ulrike   Faber-Hermann and  Monika  Meier, who have intensively studied Minden architecture around 1900.

They emphasise the relationship of the fountain sculpture to the government building, which is also interpreted by this work of art: In this   context, the fountain was intended to express bravery and a heroic "loyalty to the  fatherland" and to enshrine this "permanently" across the eras. This is why the three "warriors" cannot be assigned to a specific time by  clothing or armament .
With this staging of history, Manzel's fountain also  fits in with the overall artwork of the government building. The  magnificent installation, designed by  architect Professor Paul Kanold, was intended to document the power and  self-confidence of the state. Its construction in the Weser Renaissance style created a symbolic  bridge between the heyday of the 16th  century and  the economic power of the Wilhelmine Empire.