Alster fountain
The Alsterfontäne is a large fountain on the Inner Alster in Hamburg .
history
Carlheinz Hollmann had the idea for the 60-meter-high fountain when he saw the fountain on Lake Geneva (the Jet d'eau ) from an airplane in 1986 . This is located in downtown Geneva in a cityscape very similar to that of Hamburg's Inner Alster and is also a landmark of the city. The Jet d'eau has existed since 1885 and, at 140 m, is more than twice as high as the Alster fountain.
Hollmann imagined how such a fountain would also beautify the Hamburg Alster Lake and proposed his idea to the Senator for Construction, Eugen Wagner , who referred him to Chief Construction Director Egbert Kossak . In front of the large city model of Hamburg , he explained his idea to the building authorities and ultimately convinced the pipe- smoking Senator with a curved pipe cleaner as a model for the fountain. Companies like Blohm + Voss were quickly found as sponsors and the Alster fountain has been splashing since April 18, 1987, 12 noon. However, the height is limited by the windy weather in Hamburg.
Initially, the fountain did not meet with much approval from the population, as the Inner Alster was always the “simple landmark of Hamburg”. Over time, however, it became part of it.
Financing and operation
The annual costs of 60,000 euros are financed by corporate and private donations.
With an output of 85 kW (114 hp), the pump delivers around 170,000 liters of water per hour to a height of 60 meters. The pump consumes around 380,000 kWh of electricity per season, which corresponds to the annual consumption of 70 single-family houses. The associated introduction of oxygen from the air has now contributed to an acknowledged significant improvement in water quality .
At the beginning of November, due to the frost, the platform from which the fountain splashes upwards and on which several spotlights have been installed to illuminate the scenery in the evening will be dismantled and stored. Maintenance and repair work is usually carried out during this period. Around Advent it is replaced by another platform on which a large Christmas tree decorated with lights stands in the middle of the sometimes frozen Alster . In spring the fountain can bubble again from 9 a.m. to midnight.
Individual evidence
- ^ History and dates of the Alster fountain
- ↑ ganz-hamburg.de: The Alster fountain gushing again March 28, 2012
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 33 '16.62 " N , 9 ° 59' 41.83" O