Sunflowers - divine and beautiful

Here you will learn where the sunflower was worshipped as a symbol of a sun god, how it came to Europe and what we used it for.

With their wonderful yellow flowers, sunflowers are the epitome of summer and radiate good humor. Do you think people have always seen it that way? The wild sunflower already existed about 4500 years ago, both in the Mississippi region (USA) and in Mexico and later in South America.

The indigenous peoples of North America used sunflowers primarily as a food source, while Central and South American peoples used them more for ritual purposes and as an ornamental plant. It had a very special position with the Incas. Since they saw themselves as sons of the sun, they worshipped the sunflower as a symbol of their sun god.

Finally, sunflower seeds were brought to Europe by Spanish sailors, where they were cultivated from 1552 onwards as an ornamental plant. It took a long time before their value as food was discovered. It was not until the 17th century that the seeds were used for bakery products, and it was not until the 19th century that sunflowers were discovered as an oil plant.