William’s Square

William’s Square, or also Willi as the Goettingen schoolchildren and university students like to call it, is a popular meeting point in the center of the old city. The benches under large, shady trees and the lovingly planted flower beds in the middle of the square invite one to linger. One encounters university professors, university students, people out for a walk, bottle collectors, retirees and Gottingen’s local characters here. Quite simply, William’s Square is the center point of evening events after sunset, especially in summer. One brings his own beer from home or buys it at the near-by popular snack shop “Europic” and then exchanges the news of the day or gets in the mood for the up-coming celebration.
A three meter tall, grand bronze statue of William IV stands in the middle of the square. The William’s Square is not, however, named after the German Emperor as is often assumed, but rather the square was founded by the city in 1837 as part of the centennial celebrations of the university. Thus, it features the King of Hanover and Great Britain of that era. William IV is seen wearing a coronation mantle, offering his right hand before him in greeting. The monarch represented here died in the year of the monument dedication and thereby also ended the 123 year long personal union between Hanover and Great Britain. This monument was sculpted by Ernst von Bandel who, among other works, also sculpted the famous Hermann monument in the Teutoburg Forest.
William’s Square is almost completely surrounded by university buildings. The administrative office for students is located in the L-shaped building complex directly on the square; in addition, the inner city canteen had been situated here up until a few years ago. The premises of the former canteen have regrettably remained unused to this day. The Old University Aula stands on the other side of William’s Square. This is the next stop on your tour

Photo Mensa (Göttingen) by Manecke is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0