Nikolausquelle Eltville

The Nikolaus-Brünnchen today flows only as a narrow stream at the riverbank in Eltville towards Erbach at the end of the avenue near the three trees into the Rhine. The place was probably named after the former patron saint of Eltville. Before the Eltville swimming pool was built, the “Nikeloosbrünnche” was a meeting point for the youth of Eltville, who gathered here in the surrounding meadows during the summer when swimming in the Rhine was still allowed.
Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children, but he is also the patron saint of pilgrims and travelers as well as many professions, including sailors, inland navigators, and coopers. Fishermen and skippers lived around the Sebastian Tower. Close by in Leergasse and at Breitenstein was the craftsmen's quarter. Here, the coopers, who soaked their barrels in the flowing mill stream, lived and worked. The craftsmen began their daily work very early, not without having participated in an early morning mass in the nearby chapel outside the city wall.

The chapel was named after Saint Nicholas, as were many churches located near rivers. The Eltville city gate, which is called Kappeltor by the people of Eltville, appears in the documents of the Eberbach monastery as St. Niklas-Tor.

The historical site of the “Nikolausquelle”, marked by two large planes, has so far presented itself without any spatial design order and integration into the surroundings. Therefore, the area has been redesigned as a square with high quality for staying. The open space around the existing trees has been designed, and the area of the spring has been technically revised, the outlet pipe renewed, and the spring provided with a sandstone slab. A reclining bench and seating areas on a plateau by the tree invite you to linger. A play area for children has been designed with a large fish and a running rope. A stele points to the project of the Regionalpark RheinMain.