Pretzel rider
The pretzel rider is a historical figure in Munich's city history. He is depicted in a ceiling fresco by the Asam brothers in the Heilig-Geist-Kirche in Munich .
history
On July 12, 1318 Burkhard Wadler, an influential and wealthy merchant and Munich citizen, and his wife Heilwig launched the "Wadler Donation", one of the first historical and by name secular foundations in Munich. The Wadler couple had made a considerable fortune from the salt trade . From the income from its saltworks in Hall in Tirol and the lease income from its coin , it donated 63 pounds pfennigs to the Heilig-Geist-Spital in Munich, which was founded in 1208 by Ludwig the Kelheimer as a hospital for the poor and the sick. With this "forever valid" donation, it was now possible to feed the poor in the hospital once a week, and another special feed once a year.
Once a year, however, the other poor people in Munich should also have some of the donation: three pounds pfennigs from the foundation were earmarked for an annual pretzel donation. Once a year a pretzel rider walked around Munich on a white horse at night so that he could be seen better. In order to hear him better, three horseshoes were loosened. With the words "You young and old people, it's off to the Holy Spirit, where the Wadler Pretzen goes!" he called the people of Munich together to donate pretzels in front of the Holy Spirit. He already had a few pretzels with him that he could distribute during his ride. Around 3000 pretzels were given out to citizens in Munich every year. Originally, the ride of the pretzel rider probably took place on the feast day of John the Evangelist (December 27th). When the last of the Wadler family died that night on May 1st, the ride was postponed to that night. From midnight the pretzel rider rode through the city, and until 12 noon the pretzels could be picked up at the Heilig-Geist-Spital.
The custom lasted for almost half a millennium. When the pretzel rider ran out of the pretzels he had brought with him in 1801, the people of Munich were so angry that they pulled the poor rider off his horse and beat him up. As a result, the ride of the pretzel rider was abolished in the following year by the Munich city council and was forgotten. The pretzel donation continued, but was only announced on the notice board, and the distribution only began at 5 a.m.
Representation in art
In the restored central ceiling fresco of the nave of the Heilig-Geist-Kirche on Viktualienmarkt there is a pictorial representation of the Breznreiter. A man with a pretzel who looks deep into the eyes of the gray horse. The moving scene is a small detail on the left edge of the ceiling fresco by Cosmas Damian Asam from 1727, which depicts the founding of the Heilig-Geist-Spital .
Revival of the custom
In 2004 John Mullarney († July 19, 2009) had the idea to let the pretzel rider perform again in order to collect for the restoration of the organ of the Heilig-Geist-Kirche. The first appearance of the pretzel rider took place on May 1st, 2005, organized by the organizer Weis (s) er Stadtvogel as part of his historical city tours in cooperation with the Rischart bakery .
However, since this appearance did not correspond to the historical figure, John Mullarney organized an appearance of the pretzel rider himself on the occasion of the 849th birthday of the city in 2007, together with Tobias Hörl and Matthias Puschnig. This appearance was under the patronage of Mayor Christian Ude and was supported by the Tourism Office of the City of Munich. For the appearance of the pretzel rider, Hans Kröll composed the pretzel rider march, Alice Morgenstern created the text for it. Due to the great response, the pretzel rider's appearance has been repeated every year since then.
For the 850th birthday of the city and 800 years of existence of the Heilig-Geist-Stift in 2008, the ride of the pretzel rider was connected with the salt toll , a fundraising campaign that benefited the Munich social foundation. Since then, the Brezenreiter has been promoting a fundraising campaign for changing social institutions every year on Munich's city birthday.
literature
- Josef H. Biller, Hans-Peter Rasp: Munich - Art & Culture . 15th edition. Südwest Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-517-06977-9 , pp. 413-415 .
-
Helmuth Stahleder ; Richard Bauer , Munich City Archives (ed.): Chronicle of the City of Munich. Dölling and Galitz, Munich 2005.
- Volume 1: Duke and bourgeois town. The years 1157–1505, ISBN 978-3-937904-10-8 .
- Volume 3: Forced Shine. The years 1706–1818, ISBN 978-3-937904-12-2 .
Web links
- The Münchner Brezenreiter , website of the Münchner Brezenreiter and the resuscitator of the custom
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stahleder, Chronik, Volume 1, p. 88.
- ↑ a b Stahleder, Chronik, Volume 3, p. 486.
- ↑ Stahleder, Chronik Volume 3, p. 500.
- ^ Press release from Weis (s) er Stadtvogel, May 1, 2005
- ↑ Press release of the City of Munich Brezenreiter rides on the 850th city birthday for the Munich Social Foundation on April 22, 2008
- ↑ The pretzel rider and the salt toll on the city's homepage muenchen.de for the 850th anniversary celebration in 2008