“Two Worlds” figurine group on the Ouahigouya square in Lahnstein.

The newly created square on Kirchstraße was developed after the demolition of the former Rhein-Hotel, which was located between Pfarrgasse and Martinskirche until 1982.

Initially, the planted open space was equipped with seating and a black sphere fountain. On July 20, 1992, the square was officially named “Ouahigouya-Platz” by resolution of the city council, after Lahnstein's partner city in Burkina Faso.

Two bronze statues were erected to depict a European and an African child in their first encounter. One statue represents a well-fed boy from Europe eating a banana and reading a book. The other statue shows an African girl holding a jerrycan and carrying a bundle of firewood on her head.

“With their installation in a busy place,” said Mayor Karl-Heinz Groß on July 21, 1992, during the unveiling of the figurine group, “we draw everyone’s attention to the unjust distribution of goods in this world and urge for help.” A delegation from Ouahigouya was present at the square's naming ceremony. The figurine group was created by Fritz Berlin (1924-1997), the former mayor of Oberlahnstein, who worked as a sculptor in the region after his retirement. The establishment of the fountain was made possible by a donation from pediatrician and honorary citizen of Lahnstein, Dr. Hans Nohr (1920-2005).

The partnership with the African city was pioneering when it was founded in 1978, as Third World partnerships were still rare in the Federal Republic at that time. Over its 39 years of existence, countless aid shipments reached their destination, enabling “help for self-help.” The fountain is therefore symbolic: in Lahnstein, water is a matter of course, but not so in Lahnstein's African partner city. Due to its environmental projects in Burkina Faso and various supportive initiatives for Ouahigouya, Lahnstein was awarded the Europe Medal by the Institute for European Partnerships and International Cooperation (IPZ) Bonn.