To commemorate the founder of Peine, the merchants' guild donated this portrait to the town in 1999.
The approx. 1.90 m high bronze statue is a fictitious replica of Count Gunzelin von Wolfenbüttel, "Truchsess of the Imperial Court" and founder of the town of Peine. Fictitious as there is no contemporary portrait. It was created by the artist Wolfgang Lamché.
The merchants' guild of Peine donated the bronze statue to the town on June 1, 1999. It bears the inscription: "COUNT GUNZELIN - 1223 founder of the town of Peine - Donated by the merchants' guild of Peine from 1652 AD 1999."
In his left hand he holds a shield with the seal of Gunzelin: a wolf leaping over two sheaves. This image can also be found on the coat of arms of the town of Peine and is therefore important evidence of the town's foundation by Gunzelin.
Probably through an inheritance, Gunzelin came into possession of Peine Castle around the year 1200. He then founded an urban settlement right next to the castle around 1223, from which the present-day town of Peine developed. After his death, the town and county of Peine fell to Hildesheim Abbey in 1260.
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