Munich notes

I am constantly reminded that so much of the picture which urban Munich presents is the result of the initiatives which were taken to prepare for the Olympic Games of 1972.

The fountain installation shown above, with jets of water four metres high, was designed by the sculptor Heiner Schumann. Over the years, however, the pumping system was  increasingly degraded by the build-up of mineral deposits in the complex system of pipes. Finally the fountain delivered only embarrassingly feeble seventy centimetre jets and it was finally turned off pending renovation.

This is a place where I spend about ten minutes every day when I change from tram to bus on the way to visit my client. For the past six months it has been an ugly building site, but yesterday the fencing was removed and once again it looks as its designer conceived it forty years ago. The refurbishment, using advanced pumping technology and new materials for the plumbing has cost around 700,000 Euros.

When the spring of next year comes I look forward to a wonderful show from the fountains.