In front of the historic town hall in Groß-Gerau are the bronze Hessian threshers, the largest group of figures in the district town. The original design is by Mario Derra from Gernsheim.
The “Hessedrescher” in front of the historic town hall in Groß-Gerau are the largest of the seven groups of figures in the district town. (Photo: Samantha Pflug)
GROSS-GERAU - A small mouse is nibbling on the cheese that it has apparently stolen from the farm workers' provisions basket filled with wine, sausage, bread and cheese, two other rodents are sitting as still as mice: The bronze group of figures of the "Hessedrescher" next to the historic town hall from 1579 It's worth taking a closer look because there are many details to be discovered.
Children in particular like to stop with their parents to look at the sculpture, which comes into view over coffee in Radke's bakery or on the terrace of the Restaurant-Hotel Adler. It is a prominent corner of the city center where the Hessedrescher have had their place since 2007. At the time, the sculpture and its location were much discussed, but today the three bronze field workers with the flails as well as a farmer's wife or maid standing apart and a girl with a dangling doll have long been part of the cityscape. Does the woman with a sheaf of grain under her arm symbolize the harvest-binders who helped bundle the sheaves of grain in those days before mechanization came into agriculture? And doesn't one of the Hessedreshers even have Lenin's features?
This question is sometimes asked with amusement during historical tours with museum director Jürgen Volkmann. Volkmann explains about the Hessedrescher: “The figures tell of the time until the second half of the 19th century, when harvest helpers came from the low mountain regions of Hesse to process the grain by hand threshing. There were many horse rides on Mainzer Strasse, where people worked with flails on the threshing floors and in front of the barns.” The expression “eat like the Hessed threshers” is reminiscent of the lavish meal that always came with hard work.
With five large figures and many small decorations, the folk sculpture of the Hessedrescher is the largest of the seven groups of figures in the city, which - with the exception of the piglet farmer from 1995 - were installed between 2001 and 2007.
The original designs and models of the Hessedrescher go back to the Gernsheim artist Mario Derra, who, when asked, still distances himself from what was created from them.
Source: Echo GG