Gänseliesel

Today, it is an essential part of graduation celebrations, for every student who finishes a doctorate at the University of Göttingen has to climb the fountain and kiss the statue of the goose girl.

Because the climbing of the fountain was usually celebrated with excessive consumption of alcohol and loud cheers of fellow students and because the number of students largely increased after World War I, police issued a decree in 1926 that officially forbade the climbing and kissing of the statue.

After a severe assault during the winter of 2004 (malicious arson), the fountain needed to be disassembled and underwent major restoration.

Since 1995, each year on a weekend in September the city of Göttingen stages the so-called "Gänselieselfest" in honor of the goose girl.

Main event of these festivities is the election of a young woman from Göttingen as the Gänseliesel, representing the town and the statue for one year.