Löwenbrunnen

The Löwenbrunnen stands in the northern part of Cologne’s old town, on Erich Klibansky Square. The square lies between St.-Apern-Strasse and Helenenstrasse. Before 1942 this area housed a Jewish centre with a synagogue and several schools. The square is named after the headmaster of the Jewish grammar school that once occupied the site. The fountain is a memorial to more than 1,100 Jewish children and school pupils from Cologne who were deported and killed in Nazi camps. A bronze lion rearing on its hind legs crowns a granite column in the centre of an eight-sided concrete basin. The lion holds the Tablets of the Law in one paw and raises the other toward the sky. Bronze plaques on each of the basin’s eight faces list the names of the children. A memorial plaque quotes the verse ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ from Leviticus. Visitors find the eight-sided basin set in a small courtyard beside a through gallery. The lion’s bronze figure dominates the centre, its muscular form catching the light. Water fills the basin, reflecting the sculpture and the sky above. The surrounding plaques bear the names of the children in sombre rows. The site remains a place for quiet remembrance and school ceremonies.