1888: "BAD OFFENBACH" WAS JUST A DREAM

Since 1888, the sodium and lithium-rich water from Ludwigstrasse had been a product with which Offenbach's identity was associated. The fountain became a major topic of discussion in the city even before the water flowed, which was given the name of the unfortunate Emperor Frederick III. He is still commemorated by a bust on the corner of Ludwigstraße and Geleitsstraße.

Frederick ascended the German throne in March 1888, terminally ill. He succumbed to cancer just 99 days later. For the second time in a year, an emperor had to be buried. For Offenbach machine manufacturer Adam Neubecker, however, this was a year of triumph. For three years, the whole of Offenbach had been amused by his seemingly unsuccessful attempts to drill for water on his property on Ludwigstrasse in order to become independent of the municipal supply.

When he still hadn't found anything at a depth of 200 meters, he is said to have grimly sworn: "I'll drill until I tickle the soles of the Cameroonians' feet". He then found what he was looking for at a depth of 300 meters. But what he found there was mineral water that was unusable for his purposes. Nevertheless, Neubecker knew how to turn it into a business. He gave the water the name of the dead emperor and bottled it for sale. The Offenbacher Zeitung proudly reported on September 8, 1888: "We can already say this much, that the development represents a turning point for Offenbach".

Astonished, the town saw itself on the threshold of becoming a health resort. In April 1891, the "Illustrierte Bade-Blatt", published in Vienna and Berlin, reported: "In the spring of 1889, the dispatch of water from the Kaiser-Friedrich spring began, which has since received the highest distinction of all mineral waters, the diploma of honor and the gold medal. This shipment is taking on highly gratifying dimensions, just as Offenbach already has a considerable number of spa guests."

The trade journal reports on a "charming drinking hall", a "magnificent spa park" and the sounds of a spa band. It recognizes the "world renown" of Offenbach's water and paints a vision of a "much-visited spa town of Offenbach". This remained only a short-lived dream.

However, the water retained its reputation. Soon it could be ordered in Berlin's "Adlon" hotel as well as in first class on overseas steamships. In 1936, it even received state recognition as a medicinal water. It could be bought in pharmacies without carbon dioxide.

Decades earlier, the company had already changed hands. Neubecker's machine factory was just a neighbor of the fountain business. It no longer exists either. In 1982, the rights to the Kaiser-Friedrich-Quelle brand were transferred to a company that the owner family had formed with a Rosbach mineral water company. The brand has since ended up in Bad Vilbel.

The owner family retained ownership of the property with the fountains, which were then closed in 1996. On December 31, 2003, the temporary water permit for pumping the water also expired. And in April 2009, the Darmstadt Regional Council announced in the State Gazette: "There is no application for approval of the water rights. There is no longer a legitimate reason to maintain the state recognition of the Kaiser-Friedrich spring as a medicinal spring for the benefit of the general public".

At this point, most of the old premises had already been sold to an investor who wanted to run a retirement home there. However, the emperor's bust on the corner of Geleitsstraße is to be preserved at this location, the owners assure us. It will be the last reminder of an Offenbach dream. By Lothar R. Braun.