Elisenbrunnen

The Aachen Elisenbrunnen reflects this city’s marked bath and spa culture. Owing to the many thermal springs Aachen was a well-known spa even in Roman times and later centuries.
The Elisenbrunnen finished in 1827 by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel is a representative building around the “Kaiserquelle“. The spring named after Crown Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria is still a tourist attraction.
It consists of an open pump room with a columned porch and two pavilions to the left and right. 52C warm drinking water rushes from two integrated wells of the mineral spring Kaiserquelle. The water contains much sulphur, which explains the characteristic smell there.
The two pavilions are now used as the seat of the Aachener Verkehrsverein and a restaurant respectively.
In WWII, the spring was almost completely destroyed but fully reconstructed in the beginning of the 1950s. The well-known Aachen-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe advocated this unchanged, very detailed reconstruction.
Behind Elisenbrunnen we find Elisengarten, a small park, also classicist.

Author: Editorial staff baukunst-nrw
Last changed on 16.10.2007

Categories:
Architecture » Public Buildings » Cultural (cinemas, theatres, museums)