Nov 4
2024

Garden fountain in Lübeck, Germany.

In the public gardens of Lübeck in Germany, the company Natursteinwolf has created a stream that has been in service for 23 years

23 years is quite an age, and in the case of the public gardens in Lübeck a watercourse shows that natural stone can easily survive such a time: the company Natursteinwolf designed the bed of the stream with crusted slabs and they still do their job without any damage. The attractive thing about the design is that the surface of the slabs is reflected on the surface of the water and leads to waves and small whirlpools. When the sun shines against the light, this creates a silvery play of light in constant motion.

The watercourse is located in the garden of the non-profit organization Gemeinnützige in Lübeck, a citizens’ organization that was founded when human rights were proclaimed in Paris. Since then, it has been committed to social commitment and education and supports numerous institutions in the old Baltic Sea trading city not far from Hamburg.

The stream is 23 m long, two m wide, and only a few fingers deep. In some places, the stone protrudes from the water in the form of small islands. The gradient is no more than two to five percent – that is enough for the stream to flow continuously.

The system does not require major maintenance: The watercourse must be cleaned regularly, especially in autumn when the leaves fall from the trees. In winter, the system is switched off, there is a risk that the ice will damage the pump and the pipes in frost.

The crust plates come from the workshop of the stonemasonry company Natursteinwolf, which sources and saws blocks itself. The thickness of the plates varies between five and ten cm, depending on the height of the furrows on the stones. “Natursteinwolf has been sawing raw blocks since 1975 and of course also develops possible applications for granite crust plates,“ says company boss and master stonemason Stefan Wolf. He calls his company a “natural stone manufacturer“ to make it clear that it is characterized by high-quality craftsmanship and creativity.

The facility brings joy to many visitors, for which they do not have to pay and which is also priceless. It offers fun and games for the children and the neighbors’ dogs, and the birds of the sky come by to drink and bathe.

Natursteinwolf – die Steinmanufaktur (German)

Gemeinnützige, Lübeck (German)

Photo: Stefan Wolf

(04.11.2024, USA: 11.04.2024)