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Historic fountain at the Justus Liebig House restored and usable as a drinking fountain
sandstone fountain, restored on behalf of the City of Darmstadt, old town island , now at the Justus Liebig House on Monday the 15th and was officially inaugurated. The fountain will now be available to the public as a drinking water fountain .
Until 2022, the base and column shaft of the fountain were stored at the municipal depot. There, the original parts were discovered and identified as belonging to the former fountain in the old town. Thanks to generous donations from Kahrhof Bestattungen GmbH & Co. KG, Darmstadtia eV, and the Hans and Dorrit Michel Foundation, the historical components were professionally restored by the Gernsheim stonemasonry firm Freymadl . The missing capital and the fountain basin were faithfully recreated in sandstone.
Municipal funds were also used to modernize the entire fountain technology, so that the fountain can now be used a public drinking water system
“ It is always impressive how, with the support of a committed citizenry, valuable projects can be realized even in financially challenging times. With this fountain, the square in front of the Justus Liebig House, the ‘island,’ has regained a historical witness to the past, a reminder of the destroyed old town, ” said Michael Kolmer, Head of the Monument Preservation Department . The architectural remnants make history visible in everyday life, complemented by an information panel on site.
City treasurer and health officer André Schellenberg also emphasized the added value:
“ With the conversion to a drinking fountain system, citizens in the city center will have another opportunity to obtain free and environmentally friendly drinking water during the summer months. ”
The fountain was in 1862 by the sculptor Johann Baptist Scholl the Younger (1818–1881) and originally served the general water supply. Until the destruction of the old town, it stood on the so-called "island." This island was created in 1885/86 after the demolition of a densely built block of houses to improve living conditions in the old town and is still considered a symbol of Darmstadt's historic old town.
Nearby is the Niebergall Fountain , erected in 1930 to commemorate Darmstadt's 600th anniversary and named in honor of the dialect poet Ernst Elias Niebergall (1815–1843) . A new information panel explains the history of the Old Town Island and the fountain. A QR code provides access to further information on the city's website at www.darmstadt.de/altstadtinsel .
(Darmstadt - Red/PSD/Stip)
