Heinzelmännchen

The Heinzelmännchen are the helpful household spirits of Cologne. According to the legend, they did the town’s work at night, baking, sewing and building, so that the residents could be idle by day. The tale ends when a tailor’s curious wife, wanting to see them, scattered peas on the workshop floor. The spirits slipped and fell, took offence, and left forever, so the people had to do all their work themselves.

The story was first written down by the Cologne teacher Ernst Weyden in 1826 and translated into English by Thomas Keightley in 1828, though scholars say the revival of the tale began around 1821. The Silesian poet August Kopisch published a hugely popular poem, “Die Heinzelmännchen zu Cölln,” in 1836; Carl Loewe set it to music in 1841. The folklorist Marianne Rumpf argued in 1976 that Kopisch relied almost entirely on Weyden’s account, though other historians challenged her assumptions.

The spirits are celebrated by the Heinzelmännchenbrunnen (Pixies’ Fountain) on Am Hof, near Cologne Cathedral, donated in 1899 by the Cölner Verschönerungsverein for the 100th birthday of Kopisch. It was designed by the cathedral sculptor Edmund Renard and his son Heinrich in a neo-Gothic style. The tailor’s wife sits atop the fountain, spying on the little helpers. The original statue is now in the Cologne Zeughaus and a replica stands in its place.

Tiny, quick, industrious household spirits (kobolds) who work unseen at night.

Workshops, bakeries and houses of Cologne, working while the townspeople sleep.

Heinzelmännchen figures appear in Cologne’s Christmas markets, in the city’s carnival songs, and the story is traditionally told at Christmas.