The Fischweiber-Brunnen (Fishwives' Fountain) stands on the Fischmarkt in Cologne's old town, between the tall, narrow riverside houses and the Romanesque church of Great St. Martin. Four stone market women crown its column, each in a different pose, as a tribute to the women who once sold fish on this very square.
The Fischweiber-Brunnen at a glance
- Where: on the Fischmarkt in the Altstadt, close to the Rhine and just in front of Great St. Martin.
- Created: 1986, for the 100th anniversary of Cologne's district association of craft trades (Kreishandwerkerschaft).
- By: Rainer Walk (1947–2017), a Cologne stonemason and sculptor.
- What it is today: a public fountain and a favourite meeting point on the square; water flows in the warmer months.
- Time needed: 5–10 minutes, longer if you sit down at one of the cafés around the square.
Fish, guilds and market women
The name of the square is no accident. Fish has been traded here since the Middle Ages, and the Fischmarkt is first recorded in the 12th century. The large building on the riverside, the Stapelhaus, served as the city's fish hall, where catches could be stored and preserved. Cologne sat on one of Europe's busiest rivers, and fish from the Rhine and salted fish from the North Sea passed through this corner of town.
The women who sold it had a place in the system, but not an equal one. From the 16th century the fishmongers were organised in a guild in which women were full members, yet they were not allowed to sell the large fish that had to be weighed, and in 1482 they lost the right to sell salted fish, leaving them only fresh fish. The fountain, carved five centuries later, gives these working women a monument in the place where they stood.
What to look for
- The basin: its four-lobed shape echoes the clover-leaf east end of Great St. Martin, the church right behind it. Stand back and compare the two.
- The material: the whole fountain is carved from dark basalt lava, a stone used in Rhineland buildings for centuries.
- The four women: on the east side one leans wearily on a barrel, on the north side another gazes into the distance, on the west side one holds up two fish by their tails, and on the south side the last cups her hands to her mouth to call out to customers.
- The ring at water level: look closely at the column and you will find fish, a snail, a paper boat and a mermaid.
- The houses behind: the colourful, narrow gabled houses facing the river form the classic Cologne riverside view, and the fountain sits right in front of them.
The sculptor's other work
Rainer Walk ran a family stonemasonry workshop in Cologne that his daughter now runs as the fourth generation. He also carved figures for the tower of Cologne City Hall, among them Konrad von Hochstaden, the archbishop who laid the foundation stone of the cathedral. If you walk on to the City Hall, look for his statue on the tower and you will have seen two works by the same hand within a few hundred metres.
Tips for your visit
- Walk around the fountain once before taking pictures: each woman faces a different direction, and the most expressive one depends on the light.
- Morning is quieter; in the evening the terraces around the Fischmarkt fill up and the square becomes one of the liveliest spots in the old town.
- For the best overview, step onto the Rhine promenade and look back at the fountain with the houses and the tower of Great St. Martin behind it.
Nearby
- Great St. Martin: the Romanesque church whose clover-leaf choir inspired the basin, right behind the fountain.
- Tünnes and Schäl: the two bronze puppet-theatre characters stand by the church, a minute or two away.
- Alter Markt: the old market square with the City Hall tower and the Jan von Werth fountain, a few minutes' walk.
See Cologne with World City Trail
Our Cologne scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 20 minutes of walking. The Fischmarkt, where the fountain stands, is one of the stops, along with Great St. Martin, the Old Market and Cologne Cathedral. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Cologne.
Play the Cologne scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Cologne →
Play the outdoor escape game in Cologne →
Facts checked in October 2026.