The Lion soon became the heraldic animal of Braunschweig; it appeared in the city's seal and on ducal coins. The sculpture and its pedestal were extensively restored in 1616, under the rule of Duke Frederick Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, after long quarrels with the Braunschweig citizens were settled. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was narrowly rescued from melting down when the Westphalian government prepared for the 1812 Russian Campaign. Another restoration was carried out by the sculptor Georg Ferdinand Howaldt in 1858.