Esslingen's Beelzebub Stays: Bronze Devil Figure Splits the City

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Esslingen's Beelzebub Stays: Bronze Devil Figure Splits the City.

First the onion, now the devil — Esslingen clearly can't resist when it comes to contentious art in public space. A newly installed bronze devil figure has divided the city. The matter has since landed with the police. The city, however, isn't backing down: it wants to keep Beelzebub.

What the reporting shows

A new devil cast in bronze has recently appeared in public space in Esslingen. The artwork is officially listed as a monument in the available reports — hence the headline "Debatte um Denkmal" (monument debate). The figure quickly picked up the nickname "Beelzebub" in the local press. What started as a sculpture became the talk of the town within days — and shortly after, a case for the police. What exactly the officers are doing — whether they're taking reports, securing an action, or assessing damage — cannot be determined from the available reports.

First onion, then row

Anyone reading "First onion, then row" can guess it: this isn't the first round. An earlier figure, colloquially known as "the onion," had already occupied the city. The new devil figure thus slots into a small but intense tradition of controversial artworks in the cityscape. The line from the Stern report sums up Esslingen's peculiarity in six words — and spares any need to explain why this particular city has become a collecting point for bronze controversies.

What remains, what's missing

The city's position is clear: The devil stays. What the sources leave open: the specific trigger for police involvement, any possible legal steps, and whether the figure might ultimately be moved after all. What the coverage so far — including at Zeit Online and Stern — does deliver is a city where art in public space has visibly become a matter for the top brass — even if only as a police file.