Opernbrunnen (Cologne)

Opera fountain on Offenbachplatz

The Kölner Opernbrunnen is a fountain on the Offenbachplatz in Cologne in front of the Cologne Opera . It was inaugurated on December 21, 1966 and finally put into operation in 1967. To this day it is of great importance in terms of urban planning and architecture. The fountain sculpture was designed and realized by the Cologne artist Jürgen Hans Grümmer .

Fountain design

The sculptural mosaic fountain forms the center of the square in front of the Cologne Opera . The artist Grümmer developed this fountain as a round structure made of reinforced concrete, enlivened by ceramic and glass mosaics that were accentuated by underwater spotlights. A lush fountain, adapted in height to the proportions of the fountain, forms the center of the fountain system. The water is sprayed in a ring from further nozzles. In addition to his own mosaic elements, the artist has quoted and a. Mosaics (ceramics) from the swimming pool of the yacht "Tina" of the shipowner Aristoteles Onassis used. In addition, mosaic parts (apostle's head) from the destroyed Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin are integrated.

Current condition of the place

In the past 15 years or more, however, like many Cologne fountains, the fountain has often been dry because the city of Cologne, due to its difficult budget situation, was unable to adequately maintain the Cologne fountain and supply it with well water. In the listed Cologne Opera Fountain, for example, the previously bright colors have not been visible for years due to calcification and pollution. The water nozzles were also very dirty, bent or missing completely. The old lighting was dismantled after 1994, and the water fountains were often shortened. The fountain - just like Offenbachplatz and the entire Riphahn ensemble - made an overall impression of being neglected.

Renovation and restoration

The restoration of the listed opera fountain as well as the renovation of the overall design of Offenbachplatz were pending for many years due to the difficult cash situation of the city of Cologne. Since February 2011, the daughter of the late well artist Grümmer has been taking care of the first donations for the benefit of well water and renovation measures on her own initiative. Under the motto nibble chocolate for the monument protection , she offers Opernbrunnen donation chocolates in order to push the renovation of the fountain. The listed restoration of the opera fountain - as well as the renovation of Offenbachplatz - was decided in the course of the renovation work on the opera house and the theater. The mosaic restoration was completed in July 2016, 14 new underwater spotlights (with economical LED technology) now illuminate the fountain in the evening hours. A new well chamber with a decalcification system and an automatic water replenishment were also installed. After a trial run, the final technical acceptance took place in spring 2017 after fine-tuning the water fountain, nozzle rings and lighting.

The fountain usually bubbles from April to the end of October and is a popular meeting point in the city center.

In May 2019 two of the outer nozzle rings, which spray the water in a ring, were stolen by metal thieves. The city filed a complaint and announced the manufacture of new nozzle rings. In July 2019, the third remaining nozzle ring was also stolen. The fountain now runs restricted, as only the central fountain bubbles. The production of new nozzle rings is advertised, but proves to be difficult due to the special bend.

Details
Fountain and mosaic
broken mosaic
dirty mosaic
broken mosaic
broken mosaic

Citizen engagement for the opera fountain

Judith Grümmer (center) presents Cologne Mayor Angela Spizig (right) with a check for EUR 6,000 for the restoration of the Cologne Opera Fountain . The event took place on May 31, 2011 in the Imhoff Chocolate Museum.

Just in time for the beginning of the Cologne fountain season 2011, the Cologne Opera fountain bubbled again. For a long time it was not bindingly clarified whether and how the listed fountain itself should be professionally restored. The artist's daughter, who is campaigning for the fountain renovation, found other strong partners from 2011 - in addition to the director of the Cologne Opera and many Cologne citizens and opera visitors: the Cologne Chocolate Museum, Cologne parishes such as Sankt Severin and the Carthusian Church, the Melanchton Academy and the Antoniterkirche with the city tours of the AntoniterCitytours and the gallery Smend.

The aim of the numerous actions and expressions of solidarity around the opera fountain was to provide civic support to the city administration in terms of monument protection in favor of a restoration of the opera fountain at the same time as the renovation of the Cologne Opera. The Cologne city curator Renate Kaymer underlined in May 2011: “In my opinion, the campaign is an extremely positive example of committed and goal-oriented civic engagement that helps us to bring indispensable identification points in our cityscape back into the positive focus of everyone.” The director at the time of the Cologne Opera, Uwe Eric Laufenberg , emphasized: “The fountain is of central importance for the design of Offenbachplatz. Only if the fountain is intact and bubbling does Offenbachplatz have a chance to be a lively center of Cologne ”.

In 2012, the opera fountain was able to bubble again into early summer, before it visually disappeared from the cityscape by 2015 as part of the construction work.

When the renovation work began in the opera, Offenbachplatz was closed due to the construction site and the fountain was protected. So that the need for renovation of the mosaic sculpture does not get out of sight in the coming years, another chocolate donation campaign started in 2012 in favor of the restoration of the fountain: “Snacking for the opera fountain. Snacking for Cologne ”, supported by the Cologne Opera from March 15, 2012. The donation chocolates were also available for a few weeks at the box office of the Cologne stages and in the opera restaurants. The aim of the campaign was to support the restoration work with the donations and to keep the fountain "on everyone's lips" as long as it should disappear from the visual field of vision. The renovation work on the Opera Fountain began in autumn 2014 and on Offenbachplatz itself in July 2015. Test operation of the well began in July 2016 and sections of the renovated Offenbachplatz were made accessible to the public again. In May 2019 there was a theft in which the bronze nozzle rings were stolen.

literature

Helmut Fußbroich: Sculpture Guide Cologne. Sculptures in public space after 1900. Photographs by Dierk Holthausen. Bachem, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-7616-1415-2 , p. 100.

Ulrich Krings , Offenbachplatz in Cologne. The Riphahn ensemble consisting of the opera house, opera terraces and theater. In: Preservation of monuments in the Rhineland. 27, 2, 2010, ISSN 0177-2619 , pp. 49-53.

Judith Grümmer (Ed.): Jürgen Hans Grümmer. Painter and sculptor [on the occasion of the first posthumous exhibition at the Kunsthaus Rhenania in Cologne from October 2, 2010 to October 17, 2010]. With contributions by Jürgen Becker , Conny Czymoch , Diter Frowein-Lyasso, Thomas Hackenberg , Christopher Schroer and Jo Schulte-Frohlinde. Die Neue Sachlichkeit , Lindlar 2010, ISBN 978-3-942139-09-0 .

Udo W. Hombach: Opernbrunnen compact, Cologne, November 2019, online publication, www. udo-w-hombach.de

Individual evidence

^ Action for well water and renovation costs , accessed on February 14, 2011.

↑ Opern / blog \ Cologne ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 15, 2011. @1@ 2

↑ Chocolate fountain meets Opernbrunnen ( memento of the original from February 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 15, 2011. @1@ 2

↑ The opera fountain is bubbling again - reported Kölner Lokalzeit on April 1, 2011

↑ https://www.ksta.de/koeln/innenstadt/2016-fuer-180-000-euro-restauriert-metalldiebe-klauen-bronzeteile-am-opernbrunnen-32525378

↑ The opera fountain is bubbling again - reported Kölner Lokalzeit on April 1, 2011

↑ Chocolate fountain meets opera fountain. Was shown u. a. for the first time a “sheet metal lid” model of the opera fountain from 1965 ( memento of the original from February 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 15, 2011. @1@ 2