Heinzelmaennchenbrunnen
Heinzelmaennchenbrunnen
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Altstadt-Nord
How to get there
- Koln Central Station • 5 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
302 reviews
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LivingThe Q
Baltimore, MD762 contributions
Jun 2019
One of the interesting sights to see when visiting Cologne is the Heinzelmännchen fountain. The Heinzelmännchen are actually supposed to be little gnome creatures that come out at night to do all of the work of the citizens of Cologne, allowing them to be lazy during the day. The gnomes would disappear before anyone awoke, but the wife of a tailor was curious to see what they looked like. She apparently spread peas on the ground in the workshop to make the gnomes slip and fall. The gnomes got so mad that they left, never to return again and the people of Cologne had to do all of their own work once again.
It is an interesting story and the Heinzelmännchen fountain was created with plaques along the wall to tell the story of the gnomes and the tailor’s wife. The legend was first written down in the 1800’s and the fountain was built in 1899. One of our first stops when we visited Cologne was to the Früh Brewery and the Heinzelmännchen fountain with all of the carvings is located in the square outside of the brewery. Certainly fun to see after a couple of local beers.
According to what we’ve read, the story roughly translates to: “Once upon a time in Cologne, how comfortable it was with the Heinzelmen! For if you were lazy, … you just lay down on your bench and took care of yourself. Then at night, before one knew it, came the little men and swarmed and clattered and rattled and plucked and picked and jumped and trotted and cleaned and scoured –and even before a lazy bum awoke, all his daily work was … already done! …”
We love seeing some of these fables as they remind us of our history and culture and also to keep our childlike wonder of the world. We were in Cologne in November, so the fountain wasn’t running, but that didn’t make any less fascinating. It may not be on the top of your list of sights to see when visiting Cologne, but it was a great start to our short time there.
It is an interesting story and the Heinzelmännchen fountain was created with plaques along the wall to tell the story of the gnomes and the tailor’s wife. The legend was first written down in the 1800’s and the fountain was built in 1899. One of our first stops when we visited Cologne was to the Früh Brewery and the Heinzelmännchen fountain with all of the carvings is located in the square outside of the brewery. Certainly fun to see after a couple of local beers.
According to what we’ve read, the story roughly translates to: “Once upon a time in Cologne, how comfortable it was with the Heinzelmen! For if you were lazy, … you just lay down on your bench and took care of yourself. Then at night, before one knew it, came the little men and swarmed and clattered and rattled and plucked and picked and jumped and trotted and cleaned and scoured –and even before a lazy bum awoke, all his daily work was … already done! …”
We love seeing some of these fables as they remind us of our history and culture and also to keep our childlike wonder of the world. We were in Cologne in November, so the fountain wasn’t running, but that didn’t make any less fascinating. It may not be on the top of your list of sights to see when visiting Cologne, but it was a great start to our short time there.
Written 12 May 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
COLCHONEROMadrid
Madrid, Spain5,034 contributions
Oct 2024 • Couples
Curious and beautiful statue and fountain two minutes from the Cathedral, represents a legend of Cologne that tells that some goblins did the work of the inhabitants of Cologne, of the artisans. There are several representations, baker, carpenter, brewer, butcher, etc., above there is a staircase in which is the tailor's wife with a flashlight in her hand, who was the one who discovered them one night and that is why they stopped doing the work. She's very pretty, better to know the story. Recommended to go see it
Automatically translated
Written 15 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
macedonboy
Glasgow, UK1,86,766 contributions
Sept 2019
The Heinzelmaennchenbrunnen is a fountain that tells the story of Heinzelmännchen and the city of Cologne. The Heinzelmännchen are a race of gnome like creatures that was said once did all the work in Cologne, until a tailor's wife was curious to figure out how everything got done. The fountain features a lady standing on top of a set of stairs while holding a lamp, while all around her the Heinzelmännchen are stumbling around trying to hide or run away.
A fantastic tale told beautifully in the sculpture of the fountain
A fantastic tale told beautifully in the sculpture of the fountain
Written 16 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
montemaranne
Bonn245 contributions
Jan 2011
When I show friends around Cologne, this fountain is always on the agenda. It's located near the cathedral in a street called "Am Hof". The Früh Brewery, one of the most popular in Cologne, is just behind the fountain which tells the story of all the little Heinzelmännchen or elves who used to help the people of Cologne do their chores at night until the tailor's curious wife tripped them with peas on her steps so she could see what they looked like - and that was the end of the Heinzelmännchen. The fountain is well cared for and beautifully planted in summer. It's easily accessible and well worth a short visit.
Written 6 January 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tripse
Edinburgh, UK72 contributions
Jul 2019 • Couples
So typical of Cologne: the story behind the Heinzelmaennchen or house gnomes. Based on the story the inhabitants of Cologne are now destined to have to work themselves rather than leaving it to the house gnomes who used to do it for them secretly at night. The fountain is part of Cologne’s heritage and was built in 1899. Its location naturally invites you to taste the local beer “Kölsch “ at one of the biggest and best known traditional breweries “Früh “. Recommended.
Written 30 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Frank-Cyprus
Paphos, Cyprus101 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
Nice to see especially when you now the story of these little gnomes and is a nice piece of the history of cologne
Written 27 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TAIN2013
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia2,865 contributions
Aug 2017 • Solo
The fountain tells the story of gnomes who used to work at night to make life easy for the people till one day, a tailor's wife got curious and tried to find out who was doing the work. The gnomes disappeared and since then the people of Cologne had to do all the work by themselves. The legend is like a German version of curiosity killed the cat.
The fountain depicts a woman with a lamp standing on top of a staircase with gnomes at its base. The fountain lies beneath the steps while friezes along the wall around the fountain depict the gnomes doing the work.
During summer, the fountain is surrounded by flowerbeds which look very beautiful. The fountain is difficult to miss given its location near the Cathedral and is definitely worth a short stop.
The fountain depicts a woman with a lamp standing on top of a staircase with gnomes at its base. The fountain lies beneath the steps while friezes along the wall around the fountain depict the gnomes doing the work.
During summer, the fountain is surrounded by flowerbeds which look very beautiful. The fountain is difficult to miss given its location near the Cathedral and is definitely worth a short stop.
Written 21 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ann V
Whitchurch, United Kingdom77 contributions
Dec 2014
Have walked a group to see this statue/fountain, which is very near to Cologne cathedral. It tells the story of the little people who came out at night & did the work for the citizens of Cologne (the tailor, cobbler, baker etc), until one night the tailors wife was so curios that she laid a trail of dried peas, the elves slipped on them, making such a noise, that she woke up & saw them. Since that time they have never returned, so the citizens have to do all their own work.
Written 6 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sumitkumar_13
Mumbai, India856 contributions
May 2019
Heinzelmaennchenbrunnen is a great place to relax. With its serene surroundings and lovely blooming flowers, its a real treat for eyes.
Written 30 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susanne T
North Carolina Mountains, NC2,136 contributions
Sept 2017 • Couples
A fun fountain in the old part of town, that describes a local story about the Heinzelmaennchen (little gnomes) who helped a tailor meet his work load but got spooked by his nosy wife and thus disappeared.
Written 23 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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