Eselsbrunnen

The Eselsbrunnen stands at the edge of Eisenach’s old town in the Goethe Garden, close to the city wall. It was made in 1986 by local metalworker Günther Laufer and first set up in the town hall garden. After the town hall was enlarged, the fountain was moved in June 1992 to a spot near the Palais Bechtolsheim beside the old wall. The bronze fountain once ran continuously, but corrosion in 2018 forced it to be turned off. In autumn 2019 it was taken apart by the city’s maintenance yard and restored. New pipes were fitted, the central column partly replaced, and the whole surface given a powder coating to stop further rust. Visitors today find a quiet corner beside the medieval wall where water plays over the bronze figures. The garden path leads past beds of flowers to the fountain’s new position. Iron rings set into the stonework recall the days when pack animals once passed through the gate.