The Postmichel Fountain has stood on Fischbrunnenplatz since 1916. The flowing fountain, made of natural stone, tells the story of what is probably Esslingen’s best-known legend—that of the post rider Michel Banhard—through its surrounding reliefs. The bronze figure with a horse was created by Emil Kimlin. When the horse initially faced away from Ritterstraße at the fountain’s opening in 1916, the people of Esslingen were outraged and demanded that the figure be turned around. Strictly speaking, the story of Postmichel is not a legend, but a prose text by Pastor Wilhelm Friedrich Munder published in 1856 in the “Stuttgarter Stadtglocke” under the title “Das Steinkreuz auf der Esslinger Steige bei Stuttgart.” It tells the story of a postal rider who was wrongfully executed for murder in Esslingen and who, as a ghost, is said to have successfully continued the investigation into the crime.
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