«Wächter Leo»: A Painting for Leonberg’s Lord Mayor

LEONBERG – A piece of the world of LeoZeit has arrived in the real lion town: together with her family, Leonberg author Anna-Mariia Kostiuk has presented Lord Mayor Tobias Degode with a painting – a portrait of a Leonberger puppy, painted by Vitalii Kostiuk.

A dog that bears the town’s name

The Leonberger is no ordinary dog. The breed was once developed to resemble the black lion in Leonberg’s coat of arms – and has carried the town’s name out into the world ever since. In Anna-Mariia Kostiuk’s fantasy series LeoZeit, the Leonberger becomes Leo: a puppy with an old stone medallion who accompanies the young heroine Alicia on her journey between the ages. It is this very Leo that the painting shows – watchful in front of an old door, a lantern in the background.

«Wächter Leo» · Painting by Vitalii Kostiuk

A special moment at the town hall

During a visit to Leonberg town hall, the family personally handed the work, entitled «Wächter Leo», to Lord Mayor Tobias Degode. It was painted by Vitalii Kostiuk, who also creates the illustrations and animations for the world of LeoZeit. For the author, the occasion was far more than a formality: Leo is at once the living emblem of Leonberg and one of the main characters of her novel – a gift in which, for a moment, the imagined town and the real one merge into one.

Part of a growing bond

The handover is one of a whole series of encounters between Anna-Mariia Kostiuk and her home town. The author had already presented her children’s book «Sonja und die Mondfee» at the town hall, handed copies to the Stadtbücherei Leonberg, the town library and met Leonberg’s Deputy Mayor. With LeoZeit she makes the town itself a literary setting – and with every step the bond between the author and the lion town grows closer.

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