Planning for the fountain donated by Cornelius Wilhelm von Heyl began as early as 1890. Initially, master builder Hofmann was entrusted with the project. The plan was for a structure with four large sculptures depicting the ‘four main plots of the Nibelungen saga’, crowned by a figure of Siegfried. The location chosen was the Hagenstraße/Marktplatz site next to the Dreifaltigkeitskirche church, which was to be reorganised. The idea of building the fountain was not taken up again until much later, albeit on a much smaller scale. The Siegfried Fountain was erected in 1921 after delays caused by the war. In contrast to the Cornelianum, the Siegfried Fountain survived the air raids of the Second World War virtually unscathed.
