You'll be amazed when you turn off the main street into the quiet town and suddenly see a well-preserved statue of a knight with a shield in the middle of the village pond. The figure in the middle of the clear water (village pond) shows the statue of Heinrich von Nettlingen, the last offspring of the knightly family, the von Nettlingen. Heinrich not only knew how to fight, but was also dedicated to chivalry and distinguished himself through compassion. He cared for people suffering from the plague in St. Michael's Monastery. However, he then became infected with the plague himself and died in 1520 on the fourth Sunday before Easter.
The figure does not carry any weapons, only the shield on which the coat of arms of Nettlingen is depicted. He holds his right hand protectively over the shield with the coat of arms.
The von Nettlingen family belonged to the so-called ministerial class. They were the servants of secular and clerical gentlemen who served as half-free people at court, as civil servants and with weapons. did not belong to the class of the free nobility, the nobiles or noble freemen. They were paid, among other things, with fiefs, farms, real estate and the resulting income and entitlements.
Well, the statue shines in the fresh sandstone. That's because she's still young. It was created by the Hildesheim sculptor Raclis Licourt in 2022. Since mid-June 2022, the knight has been holding his protective hand in the middle of the village pond over the town of Nettlingen and its residents.