- Bernkastel-Kues
The Bärenbrunnen fountain in the old town centre was once called Rauschepütz and supplied the residents with drinking and process water.
The Rauschepütz with bear on Graacherstraße was demolished in 1899. A new Bärenpütz has stood here since 1968, an impo
sing work by Hanns Scherl from Wittlich: two life-size bears - the heraldic animals of the town of Bernkastel - on a mighty fountain basin made of grey basalt. The houses used to be supplied with water from the Pütz. The word is derived from the Latin puteus (draw well). The Pütz not only supplied water for drinking, but also for cleaning and washing. Many houses had their own Pütz, but there were also public wells called ‘Bore’. In the Bernkastel district, these were located on the historic market square, at the Capuchin cross, at the Graachertor and on the Pütz der Rausche- or Bärepütz. According to legend, the place name Bernkastel comes from the term ‘Bärenkessel’, which also explains the bear in Bernkastel's coat of arms.
New and old bear fountain
The old fountain stood there until it was demolished in 1899. The current fountain was erected on the same site in 1968, albeit in a far more impressive form. The sculptor Johannes Scherl from Wittlich immortalised the town's heraldic animal twice in bronze, reminiscent of the historic Bärenpütz. The pump was adorned with a bear figure, which today adorns a balcony railing in Graacher Straße.
