Weinschenk (profession)
Weinschenk is the name given to the profession of a landlord who serves wine .
history
The activity of the wine tavern in the Middle Ages is not to be equated with the today's still known professional title of a bar host. The wine tavern was reserved for serving wine in mansions and city catering facilities, such as council cellars and rooms. In the 12th century the profession was still called Weinmann. The Weinmann, Winmann was still equated with the activity of the winegrower, the winegrower , the wine merchant and the wine tavern. The upscale activities of the council cellar master and the management of vineyards were part of it. The wine tavern was responsible for the purchase, procurement, storage, and quality of the storage of the wine. In the 14th century the job title changed to Winschenk . The serving of wine was charged with high taxes by the princes, and the wine tavern was burdened with the administrative tasks of collecting and accounting for these taxes. Already in 1380 wine consumption was 11.5 million liters per year. A contemporary wine consumption of the council of the Bohemian city of Arnau , with 15,750 liters, is proven in an invoice for the year 1579. The trade routes established under Charles IV from the Main to deep Bohemia show an early flourishing wine trade as far as the royal city of Prague on the Vltava River and the source of the Elbe. The value of a batch of wine around 1578, approx. 820 liters, cost 72 guilders ( carved in the Dertingen city wall).
family name
The professional name Weinschenk is known as a family name in German-speaking countries. In Regensburg the name is attested with Weinschench in 1325 , the form of the name Weinmann, as Pilegrimus Winmann in Cologne as early as 1198.
job profile
Today the professional name of the wine tavern is used for the owner of wine bars , wine bars and restaurants.
Historically mentioned wine tavern
- Merten Gernert (* 1500) Senator, wine tavern for the rule of Waldstein (Wallenstein) in Arnau / Bohemia
literature
- Rosa and Volker Kohlheim: Origin and meaning of 20,000 surnames . Duden-Verlag, 2005, p. 708.
- Georg Schmidt: A register of the wine trade from 1579 (in Arnau). Communications from the Association for the History of Germans in Bohemia, No. 47, pages 94-100, Prague 1908 and addendum on page 292
