Märchenbrunnen (Fairy Tale Fountain)
A 1914 sandstone-and-bronze fountain at the edge of the Mülheim municipal garden, created after designs by Wilhelm Albermann and a protected monument since 1980.
since 1914
The Märchenbrunnen – "Fairy-Tale Fountain," also known as the Tierbrunnen or "Animal Fountain" – stands at the edge of the Mülheim municipal garden and ranks among the most charming little treasures of Cologne's east. It was created by the Cologne sculptor Wilhelm Albermann and has been a protected monument since July 1980.
At a Glance
- Location
- At the edge of the Mülheim municipal garden (Stadtgarten), Cologne-Mülheim
- Completed
- posthumously in 1914, based on Albermann's designs
- Sculptor
- Wilhelm Albermann (Cologne)
- Material
- Sandstone basin with bronze figures
- Height
- roughly four metres
- Heritage status
- protected since July 1980 (no. 0689)
- Foundry mark
- GUSS.BENTELE.u.KLEEFISCH.KÖLN.
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
Design and Figures
An octagonal sandstone basin gives rise to a bowl set on a tall fountain shaft. The broad, rounded rim of the basin is richly decorated, with floral ornaments alternating with mascarons. At the centre, three naked bronze boys frolic on a pedestal, playing with the water, which flows from a shell held aloft in one child's raised hand. Numerous bronze animals populate the fountain: seals, turtles, lizards, otters, ducks and fish surround the water feature and give the work its second name. At the base of the figure group, the foundry mark GUSS.BENTELE.u.KLEEFISCH.KÖLN. identifies the Cologne workshop that cast it.
From Children's Fountain to Animal Fountain
The fountain originally looked different: the animal figures in the lower basin were not yet present, so it was first known simply as the Children's Fountain. Only with the later bronze animals did both its appearance and its name change. On one of the broad stone posts supporting the basin, a plaque bears the inscription "PATENSCHAFTSBRUNNEN / DER / KG MÜLHEIMER" ("sponsorship fountain of the KG Mülheimer").
The 2023 Theft
The fountain's restoration in 2023 brought a painful loss: in October, four of the bronze figures disappeared – a turtle, a seal, an otter and a lizard. They had been stored in a container for the duration of the renovation work and were stolen from there.
Map
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Address
Mülheimer Stadtgarten
Köln
Hours
So: 00:00–24:00
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-07-22
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