Ziegenbrunnen Ilmenau, Bronze fountain in Lindenstraße, Ilmenau, Germany

The Ziegenbrunnen is a fountain on Lindenstraße in Ilmenau, in front of the former Hotel Zum Löwen. On a stone pedestal stands a bronze sculpture of a dancing pair of goats by Volkmar Kühn, with four water spouts below the inscribed band.

The fountain was installed in 1998 in front of the former Hotel Zum Löwen, making it a relatively recent addition to the street. Despite its modern placement, the installation honors an old folk tradition through its artistic design.

The band on the pedestal reads: "In Ilmenau, da ist der Himmel blau. Da tanzt der Ziegenbock mit seiner Frau." It parodies a folk song published by 1880 that first named Lindenau, and the same verse was later transferred to other towns ending in "-au".

The fountain stands on Lindenstraße in front of the former Hotel Zum Löwen, in Ilmenau's pedestrian city centre, so it is reached on foot. The bronze goats sit on a pedestal whose four sides carry the water spouts, and the rhyming verse is cut into the pedestal's side faces, at eye level for reading.

The verse on the pedestal parodies a folk song published by 1880 that originally named Lindenau, not Ilmenau. The same rhyme was later transferred to other towns ending in "-au", and bronze goat groups stand in Obernau, Oppenau and Deizisau as well.