On Aach Island in Singen’s City Park, an impressive sculpture commemorates the German poet Joseph Victor von Scheffel. Created by the Singen artist Gero Hellmuth, the monument depicts the author in a pensive pose, gazing toward his beloved Hohentwiel.
Scheffel, author of the novel *Ekkehard*, published in 1855, often walked up the Hohentwiel via what was then Mühlenstraße—now part of the city park. Parts of his novel were written at the estate on the mountain. With *Ekkehard*, Scheffel became one of Germany’s most famous poets in the second half of the 19th century.
The sculpture impressively captures this close connection to the region. It appears as though the novel is taking shape within the poet—symbolically, he pulls the finished book from his breast pocket. The undulating design of the back evokes the gentle hills of the Hegau landscape. At the same time, the strongly curved legs reflect another facet of Scheffel: He was not averse to worldly pleasures and is even said to have ridden on a wine barrel, singing drinking songs, to inspire his students.
The Scheffel sculpture is now a popular stop on a walk through the city park. It artfully combines literature, landscape, and city history, highlighting how closely Singen and the Hohentwiel are linked to German literary history.
