Schüsterken - Bronze sculpture of a boy wearing a cap, splashing water from his mouth. In the background, flowering plants and a blurred landscape.

Schüsterken – Kleve's Spitting Man

Anyone passing by the Herzogbrücke in Kleve will encounter a special figure: the Schüsterken – a spitting shoemaker's boy.

Created in 1951 by the artist Jupp Brüx, the small bronze figure commemorates Kleve's rich shoemaking tradition. At the end of the 19th century, Fritz Pannier and Gustav Hoffmann founded a shoe factory here that soon gained international renown. Kleve became famous above all for its "elephant children's shoe"—for decades a symbol of quality "Made in Kleve." This made the city the center of the German children's shoe industry. Even today, the little shoemaker stands as a monument to this special piece of the city's history—and regularly brings a smile to the faces of passersby.

Address

Corner of Herzogstraße/Opschlag

Audio file

The shoemaker

Accessibility

The Schüsterken is accessible without barriers.
A bronze sculpture of the shoemaker, a figure in traditional clothing with a large hat and a cloak, stands on a pedestal. Playground equipment and residential buildings are visible in the background.

Further information

Five people are standing on a paved path in front of a yellow building with a stone wall. Schwanenburg Castle is visible in the background. One of them is a tour guide offering city tours in Kleve.
All city tours
Walking tours through Kleve
Bird's-eye view of the gardens with their perfectly straight tree-lined avenues and the Moritz Canal
Historic gardens
Gardens
Various wooden shoes in the Kleve Shoe Museum, including painted and natural models; some hang on a wooden frame, others lie on pieces of wood.
Kleve Shoe Museum
A step back in time
FAQ

Any Questions?

The whistling spitting man is reminiscent of Kleve's shoe industry and the famous elephant children's shoe.

The Schüsterken monument commemorates the shoe industry in Kleve, which began at the end of the 19th century with the founding of the Pannier & Hoffmann shoe factory. This made Kleve the center of German children's shoe production.

The spitting bronze figure is intentionally designed to surprise and elicit smiles. The "Schüsterken" (little shoemaker) is a humorous monument that not only commemorates the shoemaking tradition in Kleve but is also designed as interactive public art.

Kleve was a leading center of the German children's shoe industry in the 20th century. With the founding of the shoe factory by Fritz Pannier and Gustav Hoffmann, the world-famous Elefanten children's shoe was produced – a symbol of quality and innovation.