The gnome story
The carvings tell the whole legend: the gnomes at work, and the curious wife with her peas.
On Am Hof, a few minutes south of the cathedral towards the old town. It stands against a building wall rather than in the middle of a square, which is why many people walk past without noticing it.
Because the gnomes became a popular symbol of the city — you see them on sweets, souvenirs and shop signs. The tale has been told to children since the nineteenth century and is part of Cologne's popular identity.
Yes, and the story itself draws them in: gnomes working at night and a curious woman who ruins everything. Tell them the tale while they look at the carvings and the stone turns into a story.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.
The Heinzelmännchen Fountain is a small stone fountain near the cathedral that tells Cologne's best-loved folk tale. The story goes that little house gnomes came by night and did all the townspeople's work while they slept: the baking, the sewing, the carpentry. The tale ends sadly: a tailor's curious wife wanted to see them and scattered peas on the stairs to trip them up. The gnomes stumbled, took offence, left, and never came back — and ever since, the people of Cologne have had to do their own work. The fountain shows the scene in small carvings, and is free and out in the open at all times.
The carvings tell the whole legend: the gnomes at work, and the curious wife with her peas.
Each gnome practises a different trade — baker, tailor, carpenter — carved finely enough to reward a close look.
Between the cathedral and the old town, so it falls on the route of any central walk.
Am Hof 12, 50667 Köln