The fountain on Merseburg Cathedral Square has been without water for almost 100 years. Now, to mark the 1000th anniversary of the consecration of Merseburg Cathedral, water has returned to the cathedral square. Just in time for the Feast of St John, the fountain is carrying water again thanks to a restoration and refurbishment. St John the Baptist, to whom St John's Day is dedicated, is one of the patron saints of Merseburg Cathedral.

The ambitious project - work on the fountain only began in April - is only possible thanks to broad financial support from the district of Saalekreis, the city of Merseburg, MIDEWA, the Altstadtverein Merseburg e. V., the honymus-Stiftung Halle-Merseburg, INFRA LEUNA GmbH, Volks- und Raiffeisenbank Saale-Unstrut eG, TOTAL Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH, MVV Umwelt GmbH, the Freundeskreis Freunde und Förderer der Vereinigten Domstifter and numerous private donors. The Vereinigte Domstifter had initiated a donation project for the refurbishment. A number of people who feel connected to the cathedral square, the cathedral and the fountain have donated to the project.

"I am infinitely grateful that we were able to get the fountain bubbling again today on St John's Day," says Dr Holger Kunde, Director of the United Cathedral Foundations. Above all, I would like to thank the numerous donors who made this heartfelt project possible. Now we want to continue redesigning and replanting the area around the fountain and thus revitalise a wonderful place in front of the Merseburg Imperial Cathedral for all Merseburgers and our cathedral visitors," continued Dr Kunde.

Read all about the restoration of the cathedral fountain here.