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Beer drinking is generally thought to be associated with Bavaria, the Southeastern province of Germany.
Its capital city is München (Munich) which hosts the famous annual Oktoberfest. The city’s name, München,
comes from the word “Mönche” meaning monks, reflecting the fact that Benedictine Monks established
themselves here in the 8th century. If one stands in the Marienplatz in front of the
Rathaus (town hall)
in Munich and looks up at the Glockenspiel (clock play which happens every hour) and keeps looking up to the
top of the tower, then barely visible standing on the top is the figure of the “Münchener
Kindl” (Munich Child)
symbol of the city. This is the figure on the front of the featured stein of the month. The side to the right
of the handle shows the “Hofbrauhaus” (court brew house) site for much of the Oktoberfest activities. The
other
side shows the female figure of Bavaria with a lion at her side symbolizing Bavaria.
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The Münchener Kindl is a popular theme for very many beer steins including many character steins.
However the stein shown here has some other interesting features. One such feature is the unusual
light and dark gray color rarely encountered on steins. The mark on the base of the stein
(figure 1) is unusual
for two reasons: first the mark of Simon Peter Gerz barely detectable with the 079 and GRÈSNASSOVIA
meaning Nassau Stoneware and referring to this unusual color technique; second is the overmark of the
finishing shop of Jakob Goldschmidt that ordered the stein from the Gerz factory and asked for their mark
to be applied at the factory. For a more complete discussion
read John McGregor's article at the stein college web site (ref 1). The mark
on the base of
a similar Gerz stein (figure 2) is also shown for comparison and has the early “stein in triangle” mark
which was over
struck in the first example, 865, GRÈSRHENANA meaning Rhenish Stoneware and GES. GESCH. (Gesetzlich Geschützt)
meaning patented or copyrighted. For a further identification of this and many other marks
check out Chris Wheeler's web site (ref 2) on stein marks.
Thanks also to Prosit Editor Walt Vogdes for his input on this subject.
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figure 1 |
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figure 2 |
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References: |
1. www.steincollege.com/finishin.htm |
2. www.steinmarks.co.uk |
Compliments of Erste Gruppe Chapter of SCI |