According to the invention, a device for the generation of eddies creates or destroys eddies in a flowing medium in a particularly simple manner, with particularly low energy requirement with the lowest possible pressure drop, whereby the device comprises one or more profiles, for the flowing medium to flow around, which are provided with an external drive for a periodic movement relative to the flowing medium with an angular frequency .omega.. The profiles are thus periodically displaced with an angular frequency .omega. by an external drive.