Weblog - Various articles written about Esslingen's History​​

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The “Grave” problem in Medieval Esslingen

Life for most people in the medieval times was short, brutish and miserable. Due to the plague, poor nutrition and water quality, lack of medical care for the nonaristocractic,the average age was about 29 years. Naturally, being in a walled city, there was very-limited space for burials in the cemetery, which was in the church yard around the Parish Church in Esslingen. Most of these graves had tombstones, but they were positioned horizontally, not vertically like today’s tombstones and were actually embedded directly into the ground so that one could walk on them. Of course, this caused them to wear out more quickly, but the wear was intentional and meant to symbolize transience (short duration) of life. And then in the 13th and 14th centuries Esslingen grew enormously as the economy was flourishing and the city was literally bursting at the seams. In 1344 a measure was taken to ensure that all graves where the proper size and one can see this evidence of this on the south wall of today's choir in the town church, including the carved inscription: “IS DIU LENGI/BRAITI THE GRAPSTAIN”, which was then on the outside wall next to the cemetery (photo). The undertakers were therefore able to make measurements directly on site for the grave and tombstone sizes and the grave length measurement is exactly 3.5 cubits, or about 63 inches. One can see the remains of many graves, which are now embedded and preserved in the church exteriors walls. (photo)

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Secrets of Esslingen Series – The “Neidkopf”

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One of the objects that many of my guests notice during our walking tours is the “Neidkopf” on the Webergasse in Esslingen. This is one of Esslingen’s oldest streets and has many interesting buildings and a long history. On one particular house, there is a model of a wolf (or dog) chained to the building and one of the few remaining “Neidkopf” (see picture) What is a Neidkopf you may ask? It comes from an old high German word “Neid”, which means hate, anger or envy and would roughly translate in English as “grotesque mask” They were mounted on house gables, city walls, or doors on medieval buildings and might have been used to ward off evil spirits, or the owners might have decorated their houses with them eliciting a range of emotions from funny to erudite, from beautiful to horrifying to grotesque. The wolf on its corner, is presumably there to keep predators or evil spirits away.

If you are interested in Esslingen history, check out the new “Secrets of Esslingen Tour”