The Gänseliesel has stood on the market fountain in front of the Old Town Hall since 1901. The petite figure is Göttingen’s landmark.
The Gänseliesel is a tribute to the goose girls who were part of the townscape at that time. Many of these girls were called Elisabeth, which is why the cose form “Liesel” became their occupational name.
For a long time it has been a firm tradition that the freshly graduated male and female doctors of the Georg-August-University pay a visit to the Gänseliesel. After the oral examination, equipped with a doctor’s hat, they are driven to the market in a decorated cart.
Here they have to climb the fountain and give the Gänseliesel a kiss. In return, she receives a bouquet of flowers as a thank you. This custom makes the Gänseliesel the most kissed girl in town – although she never kisses back.
