Tourists will find the "Gurken-Alex-Brunnen" in the middle of Herrngasse, at the junction of Theatergasse, diagonally opposite the tourist information office. The fountain was inaugurated in memory of Alexander Otto (1884-1960) on 18 April 1986. Otto, who worked as a travelling salesman in Coburg all his life, was popularly known as "Gurken Alex" (Gherkin Alex) because he sold pickled gherkins, so-called "Kümmerlinge", from buckets at public festivals and in inns. On the initiative of the carnival club Narhalla Coburg, a fundraising campaign was held for the fountain, which cost DM 55,000, to commemorate the life of Alexander Otto. The fountain column was made by the Coburg sculptor Egon Ruggaber, the bronze sculpture by Hans Kohler. The Coburger Tageblatt of 18 April 1986 and copies of the inauguration speeches were embedded in the fountain column.
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