St George’s Fountain

General information:

St George’s Fountain on the Südermarkt square in Heide was created in 1989 by sculptor Siegfried Assmann. It depicts the figure of St George killing a dragon and incorporates eight relief panels showing scenes from the history of Heide and Dithmarschen.

Panel 1 – 1434: The coats of arms of Hamburg and Heide. There were once contractual links between the two towns because Dithmarschen, whose county town is now Heide, lies at the mouth of the Elbe.

Panel 2 – 1447–1559: A gathering of the ‘48ers’ on the market square in Heide, which served as an assembly point at the time.

Panel 3 – 1447–1559: An old map of Dithmarschen, or the ‘Republica Dithmarsia’, adorns this panel on the fountain.

Panel 4 – 1500: The year 1500 was very important for Dithmarschen. After a long fight at the Battle of Hemmingstedt, the Danes were overcome by the peasants from Dithmarschen.

Panel 5 – 1524: The title of this panel is ‘Reformation and Martyrdom’, to mark the execution of Bremen Reformer Heinrich von Zütphen.

Panel 6 – 1559: The last feud of 1559 near Heide, and thus the end of the independent peasant republic.

Panel 7 – 1841: This panel is devoted to the traditional Hohnbeer festival, established in 1841. The ‘three harrows festival’ still takes place every February.

Panel 8 – 1819–1899: This panel is dedicated to Klaus Groth, Low German poet and native of Heide. You can also visit the Klaus Groth Museum on our Lüttenheid museum island.

Trivia

Sculptor Siegfried Assmann was born on 1 February 1925 in Posen and lived and worked in Grosshansdorf until his death in 2021.