Kochbrunnenplatz
The Kochbrunnen temple used to stand at the southern end of the colonnade, but was moved and renovated in 1976/77; the thermal water still flows there.
The power of water is literally in the air here. For example, when the hot steam drifts across the square in clouds of mist early in the morning. The Kochbrunnen spring gushes 360 liters of water per minute into the daylight; it is one of the 26 so-called primary springs in the city. The water is over 66 degrees and only a small part of it splashes into the fountain basin in the elegant pavilion on Kochbrunnenplatz.
It was not until 1887 that the decision was made to build the spring its own small temple, which became the centerpiece of an elegant drinking spa. At the beginning of the 20th century, those who could afford it resided here in one of the numerous grand hotels.
The Kochbrunnen is one of the town's most famous drinking and thermal fountains - in the past, there were fountain girls here who drew the healing water from the ground in jugs and distributed it to guests.
Podcast Kochbrunnenplatz
Grandhotels at Kochbrunnenplatz
The magnificent facades have survived to this day, although not all of the buildings are used as hotels any more. The former Hotel Rose is now home to the Hessian State Chancellery and the large complex of the Palasthotel, once the first hotel with telephones in the rooms, now houses apartments and a theater.
The "Schwarze Bock" has survived as a hotel. Founded in 1486, it is considered the oldest hotel in Germany and is famous for its richly furnished Ingelheim Room, one of the most magnificent function rooms in the city. The "Schwarzer Bock" includes - of course - a bathhouse, fed with water from the Kochbrunnen spring.
Drinking fountain
Try the water from the drinking fountain in the pavilion or from the Kochbrunnenspringer, a fountain just a few meters away. It has a slightly sulphurous aftertaste, but is said to have a healing effect when consumed in small doses. One of the spa guests who loved the taste was the British writer and British army major Sir Francis Bond Head. To him, the water tasted like a "hot chicken broth" and in 1832 he seriously wondered why people took the trouble to prepare a bad soup "when Mother Nature's great stockpot provides better".
By the way: The yellow-reddish sinter that is deposited on the Kochbrunnenspringer was already appreciated by the ancient Romans - as a hair dye.