Cottbus snail rider returns after 1.5 years full of excitement!

Cottbus snail rider returns after 1.5 years full of excitement!

Cottbus, Deutschland - After the long wait, the time has finally come: the legendary sandstone sculpture "Putte with snail", better known as the "snail rider", returns to Cottbus. As Radio Lausitz , the recovery of the sculpture on July 23, 2025 at 11 a.m.

The way back of the "snail rider" was anything but easy. The figure was on New Year's Eve 2023/2024 by unknowns to the goal of vandalism and shattered. The rescue of the parts was about 1.5 years, especially since the strong floods of the Spree make it difficult to rediscover the fragments. Supported by the DLRG, the first parts were finally recovered in the winter of 2024 before the complete sculpture in the workshops of the stonemason master Maik Brunzel was restored, such as Niederlausitz Aktuell supplemented.

vandalism as a growing problem

The "snail rider" is not the only case of vandalism in Cottbus. More and more works of art in public space are being damaged, which causes considerable financial costs for the city. Every year the city spends several thousand euros for repair and cleaning work. Often it remains unclear what the motifs are behind such destruction, similar to other works of art that repeatedly become targets of vandals, also explains Deutschlandfunk Kultur . Reference is made to a wide variety of reactions of the citizens that fluctuate between rejection and a special form of appreciation of art.

In order to support maintenance for future works of art in public space, the city of Cottbus has set up a donation account. If you want to help, you can do this via the city treasury at the Sparkasse Spree-Neiße. The account information is as follows:

• intended use: FB41 donation
• Account of the Stadtkasse Sparkasse Spree-Neiße
• iban: DE06 1805 0000 3302 0000 21
• bic: weladed1cbn

With every cent that is in, the city can show a good hand for art in public space and thus continue to preserve the valuable pieces in the future. The "snail rider" is a wonderful example of how important art is for our city - and how vulnerable it can unfortunately be.