Samson

On the bench end, opposite Tristan and Isolde, we can see Samson fighting the lion. In the Old Testament, this story symbolizes the fight of the people of Israel against the pagan Philistines. Since Samson was a prefiguration of Christ, it also denotes the fight against the Devil and evil in general.

However, the image on the bench in the Town Hall mainly symbolizes the physical strength given to man by God.

The story of Samson's fight with the lion

(Old Testament, the Book of Judges 13)

The story of Samson started in the times when the people of Israel had turned from god and lived under the rule of the Philistines. God sent them a saviour – Samson and empowered him with supernatural strength to save his people from the Philistines. Samson could not cut his hair as a symbol of devotion to God.

Incredible strength was hidden in Samson´s hair. Once he killed a thousand Philistines with the jaw of a donkey, while on another occasion he lifted the locked city gates together with the columns after the Philistines had closed them. The bench end in the Town Hall tells the story of Samson killing a lion barehanded after it attacked him while he was on his way to a house of the Philistine woman he was going to propose to.