Lower Castle and the Church of St. Martin with mill pond in the foreground

The watercolour in landscape format shows the view from the banks of the mill pond to the Lower Castle in Siegen, presumably bathed in golden evening sunlight. The silhouette of the castle, with its thick tower and the Church of St. Martin behind, is especially imposing from this angle. Two strollers walk on a sandy path, while others sit on the banks of the pond; three people take a trip in a narrow wooden boat. The mill pond water is so smooth that the castle complex and trees in front of it are reflected on its surface. The mill pond was first mentioned in a eulogy to his home city given by Johann Eberhard Heeser in 1693: ‘Closer to the town lies the mill pond, which drives two mills, the coarser and the fine one.’ After it was drained in the late 19th century, the first electricity station in Siegen was set up in the area of the Mühlengraben – a new way of generating energy had taken the place of water power. Today, only street names remind us of the former dam.