It really has been a while since I last talked about my Viking River Cruise with you. Not that I haven’t meant to finish up Cologne, but 31 Days of Halloween kind of got in the way. So, before we get on with the Dom in Cologne, I do want to share one of the sweetest fountains that we saw on our visit to Europe. If you remember, I have already told you about Arriving in Cologne, Brewpubs and Market Squares in Altstadt, Alter Markt, the Rathaus and Jewish Baths, Huemarkt, the Romano Germanic Museum and I even shared some favorite Signs of Cologne. So let me tell you about this fountain!
This is the Pixie Fountain, or the Heinzelmännchenbrunnen in German.
This fountain commemorates the legend of the Heinzelmännchen. More commonly known to us as Pixies or House Gnomes.
And, it also immortalizes the Tailor’s Wife.
I am not sure if she is a heroine in this legend created by the people of Cologne or the enemy. You see, the story has it that the people of Cologne were lazy and the Heinzelmännchen would come out at night and do all of their work for them. One night the Tailor’s wife’s curiosity got the better of her and she scattered peas along the floor to trip up the Pixies. This made them very angry and they disappeared forever, leaving the citizens of Cologne to do all the work themselves.
There is even a poem written by Ernst Weyden about these funny little creatures.
Here it is in German:
Wie war zu Cölln es doch vordem
Mit Heinzelmännchen so bequem!
Denn war man faul, … man legte sich
Hin auf die Bank und pflegte sich.
Da kamen bei Nacht, eh’ man’s gedacht,
Die Männlein und schwärmten
Und klappten und lärmten
Und rupften
Und zupften
Und hüpften und trabten
Und putzten und schabten –
Und eh’ ein Faulpelz noch erwacht,
war all sein Tagwerk … bereits gemacht!…
And here it is translated to English by Thomas Keightley:
Once upon a time in Cologne,
how comfortable it was with the Heinzelmen!
For if you were lazy, … you just lied down
on your bench and took care of yourself.
Then at night, before one knew it, came
the little men and swarmed
and clattered and rattled
and plucked
and picked
and jumped and trotted
and cleaned and scoured –
and even before a lazy bum awoke,
all his daily work was … already done! …
Wouldn’t it be nice if that legend were true? Someone to do all of your work for you? Well, it is not, so we will have to carry on with our own work for now.
Another thing that was lovely around the fountain were the tulips! We did not get to see any in Holland, but we saw plenty while in Germany and France.
They really were cheery in front of the fountain.
Oh, so pretty! I still have a few other posts coming for Cologne. Stay tuned!
This is not a sponsored post. This is my experience from my trip with Viking River Cruises. Email me to find out how you can save $100 when you book your first cruise with Viking through their referral program.
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