St. George's Fountain

This fountain, a late Gothic piece dating back to 1494, originally stood at the crossing of Entengasse und Marktstraße. It has stood here in the market square in front of the town hall since 1954. St. George has been venerated here since the Crusades and often appears in southern Germany as the patron of market privileges and Stadtrechte, the “city rights” granted to a settlement by a monarch. Four sets of arms adorn the fountain: on the right, those of the county of Sponheim, claimed by the Margraves of Baden; on the front are the arms of Austria, as Margrave Christoph I’s mother came from the Austrian House of Habsburg. Christoph’s uncle was archbishop of Trier from 1456-1503, and the arms of that office adorn the back side. Finally, the arms of Ettlingen are displayed on the left side. The depiction of the tower refers to the aforementioned city rights, which included the right to construct walls and other fortifications, a privilege by no means accorded to every settlement.  The original figure of St. George now stands in the palace.

Translator: Chase Faucheux