Hiking destination near Esthal newly designed by volunteers
Nobody really knows how the Cognac fountain in a side valley near the Esthaler Goldbrunnen got its name, it is also outside of the Esthaler Brunnen hiking trail and the source was only known to a few locals. That has now changed since the relentless Esthal "fountain renovators" Helmut Weitzel, Alfred Kuhn and Walter Wolf took on the "forgotten" cognac fountain and made it the focus of hikers.
About the name designation, which is nowhere documented, there are only guesses. It is said that forest workers cooled their "Cognac" here. However, it was probably another drink that was chilled here and just the name cognac was used for it. Cognac drinkers usually enjoy their drink at an ideal drinking temperature of 21 degrees and by no means chilled in spring water.
Be that as it may, the first task was to bring the source hidden in a forest path bend out of its concealment. The watercourse was concentrated under the path in a clearly visible and attractive place at the bend in the path in front of a dense beech forest. The source was given a beautiful outlet of sandstone built into a well trough and a corresponding inscription of a Palatinate sandstone erratic boulder. Here, the continuously volunteers have once again delivered a masterpiece in sandstone processing.
Excerpt from 'Talpost issue 22/2021 Esthal'