Old street pump

In earlier times, street pumps provided residents with water for household use and for cleaning the streets. These communal pumps also played a role in fostering good neighbourly relations.

Until 1936, a round pump stood at this very spot. Known locally as the “Pött”, it reached eight metres down to the groundwater and continued to serve for many years as a firefighting well.

Based on historical photographs, the pump was faithfully reconstructed in May 2000 with donations from local citizens. The restoration marked the 70th birthday of Karl-Heinz Hermans, Mayor of Kempen from 1989 to 1999, and was installed in front of his birthplace.

„Son Pomp es zwar en Waterquell
doch wichtiger es dä Vertell
dä man sue hält an son sort Pomp
die no wier steht he op dän Tomp.“
(W. Jansen)