Isen (custom)

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The Isen ( Low German for 'iron' meaning to hit ice  ) was an old Bremen custom that has been passed down since the beginning of the 14th century and was common until the First World War . The Isen referred to a (festive) meal that each newly elected councilor ( called senator from the beginning of the 19th century ) had to host for the city ​​council at their own expense .

History of the custom

Arnold Duckwitz had in 1841 on the occasion of Isens to settle on his election to the Senate in addition to the cost of food and drinks an invoice for 125 broken wine glasses.

Bremen's city law of 1303/1308 already stipulated that each councilor had to serve the entire council a meal on the occasion of his election. According to ancient custom, it was even the right of guests after Isen to be allowed to take from the table of food and drink, which they had not eaten. According to the notes of Senator and Mayor Theodor Spitta , who was elected to the Senate for life in 1911, later not only the council, but simply “the citizens of the city” were invited to the Isen . At the beginning of the 20th century, the number of guests fluctuated between one hundred and several hundred and usually included members of the Senate and the Syndici , a large part of the citizenry , professional companions as well as relatives and friends.

The amount and composition of the food varied over time: For example, Arnold Duckwitz entertained his guests in 1841. B. with 1086 bottles of wine, 3024 "Senatorenkringel" and 72 kg of confectionery . In Spitta's time, the food - which was organized in the former museum at the Domshof - consisted of chick ragout , and Rhine and Moselle wines were served. The visitors also received a gift (a “souvenir”) - in 1911 this was a case of cigars . The newly elected Senator was also required to go from table to table after dinner and to respond to speeches and congratulations offered to him.

With the First World War and the end of the senatorial elections for life, the custom of isens, which was sometimes very expensive for the host, also ended .

Origin of the name

The name Isen ('to break ice') is originally derived from the breaking of ice in the trenches in front of the city ​​wall , which had to be kept open in winter to keep the city safe. The citizens working here for this purpose (which according to Spitta was a free civic duty, according to the Bremen-Lower Saxony dictionary was remunerated with Isel money ) were, according to tradition, entertained by the wall lords from the council who were responsible for the fortifications at a meal after their work. The term Isen was later transferred to the hospitality on the occasion of the councilor election. However, there also seems to be a connection with the Dutch word eisen ( New High German heischen ), which means to demand or to desire and alludes to the old right of citizens to be able to demand a meal from the newly elected officials.

literature

  • Horst Banse: The Isen - An old custom and its misinterpretation . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch , Volume 58. Bremen 1989, ISSN  0341-9622 , pp. 219-222.
  • Theodor Spitta : From my life. Citizen and Mayor in Bremen . List Verlag, Munich 1969, pp. 242–244.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bremische Deutsche Gesellschaft (Ed.): Bremisch-niedersächsisches dictionary . Bremen 1767, p. 704 .
  2. ↑ a b Arnold Duckwitz: Fragments from my life . Bremen 1842, p. 96 .
  3. ↑ Theodor Spitta: From my life. Citizen and Mayor in Bremen . List Verlag, Munich 1969, p. 242 .
  4. ↑ Theodor Spitta: From my life. Citizen and Mayor in Bremen . List Verlag, Munich 1969, p. 244 .