Genovevabrunnen

The Genovevabrunnen stands in a small green space in Cologne-Mülheim, between Genovevastraße and the Clevischer Ring. A life-size bronze group shows Saint Genevieve with a child and a stag. The fountain gave its name to the street, the local grammar school and the nearby indoor swimming pool. It was built through the efforts of city councillor Michael Laufenberg, who wanted to improve Mülheim’s appearance. He persuaded the widow of factory owner Heinrich Martin to fund the work. The sculptor Adalbert Hertel finished the piece in March 1914, and the Martin family presented it to the city as a gift. Today the basin still holds water, and the surrounding lawn and trees form a quiet corner. The inscription that once praised the donors has faded, but the sculpture remains. A pair of matching fountains once flanked the Clevischer Ring, linking the new school to the ring road. The green space and fountain were listed as a city monument in 1980.