Upper-German-speaking regions Pretzel

christmas market in strasbourg; mulled wine , pretzel sold



traditional weisswurst meal, served sweet mustard , soft pretzels



sweet pretzel almonds



pretzels alsace

pretzel baking has firmly taken root in region of franconia (modern german states of bavaria , baden-württemberg) , adjoining upper german-speaking areas, , pretzels have been integral part of german baking traditions centuries. lye pretzels popular in southern germany, alsace, austria, , german-speaking switzerland variety of bread, side dish or snack, , come in many local varieties. every region , city has own way of baking them. examples pretzel names in various upper-german dialects breze, brezn, bretzel, brezzl, brezgen, bretzga, bretzet, bretschl, kringel, silserli, , sülzerli. baked consumption on same day, sold in every bakery , in special booths or stands in downtown streets. often, sliced horizontally, buttered, , sold butterbrezel, or come slices of cold meats or cheese. sesame, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin, or caraway seeds, melted cheese, , bacon bits other popular toppings. bakeries offer pretzels made of different flours, such whole wheat, rye or spelt.

in bavaria, lye pretzels accompany main dish, such weisswurst sausage. same dough , baking procedure lye , salt used make other kinds of lye pastry (laugengebäck): lye rolls, buns, croissants, , loaves (laugenbrötchen, laugenstangen, laugencroissants, laugenbrot). yet, in parts of bavaria, in lower bavaria, unglazed white pretzels, sprinkled salt , caraway seeds still popular. basically, same ingredients, lye pretzels come in numerous local varieties. sizes similar; main differences thickness of dough, content of fat , degree of baking. typical swabian pretzels, example, have thin arms , fat belly split, , higher fat content. thicker part makes easier slice them use of sandwiches. in bavarian pretzels, arms left thicker not bake crisp , contain little fat.

the pretzel shape used variety of sweet pastries made of different types of dough (flaky, brittle, soft, crispy) variety of toppings (icing, nuts, seeds, cinnamon). around christmas, can made of soft gingerbread ( lebkuchen ) chocolate coating. in southern germany , adjoining german-speaking areas, pretzels have retained original religious meanings , still used in various traditions , festivals. in areas, on january 1, people give each other lightly sweetened yeast pretzels luck , fortune. these new-years pretzels made in different sizes , can have width of 50 centimetres (20 in) , more. children visit godparents fetch new years pretzel. on may 1, love-struck boys used paint pretzel on doors of adored. on other hand, upside-down pretzel have been sign of disgrace. catholic areas, such austria, bavaria, or parts of swabia, palm pretzel made palm sunday celebrations. sizes can range 30 cm (1 ft) 1 m (3 ft 3 in) , can weigh 2.5 kg (6 lbs). old tradition on palm sunday dating 1533 outdoor pretzel market (brezgenmarkt) in hungerbrunnen valley near heldenfingen.

in rhineland region, sweet pretzels made pudding-filled loops (pudding pretzels). on laetare sunday in luxembourg, fourth sunday in lent, there festival called pretzel sunday . boys give girlfriends pretzels or cakes in pretzel form. size symbolizes how likes her. in return, if girl wants increase attention, give him decorated egg on easter. pretzel custom reversed on pretzel sunday during leap years. custom still exists in areas of swabian alb. on same occasion in rhenish hesse , palatinate, people have parades carrying big pretzels mounted on colourful decorated poles.

during lent in biberach, lent pretzels popular. these shortly boiled in water before baking , afterwards sprinkled salt. schloss burg renowned 200-year-old speciality, burger pretzel . texture , flavour resembles rusk or zwieback. local story says recipe came grateful napoleonic soldier in 1795, wounds treated baker s family in little town of burg. cultural importance of pretzel burg expressed monument in honour of pretzel bakers, , 18-km hiking trail nearby called pretzel hiking trail .

a variety typical upper franconia anise pretzel . town of weidenberg celebrates pretzel weeks during carnival season when anise flavored pretzels served special dishes such cooked meat horseradish or roast. in city of lübeck, 500-year-old guild of boatmen on stecknitz canal call annual meetings in january kringelhöge (pretzelfun). elaborate affair, 200 participants, celebrated breakfast beer , includes mass in lübeck cathedral , presentation of songs children s choir. in earlier times, children poor, coming orphanage, , each received kringel (pretzel) reward. hence, name pretzelfun adopted, because gift considered highlight. today, children come schools, still pretzels.

the city of osnabrück celebrates anniversary of peace of westphalia (1648) , organizes annual hobby horse race grade-four children. on finishing race, presented sweet pretzel. in heraldry, city seal of nörten dates around 1550 , depicts 2 facing lions holding pretzel @ center.

the lye pretzel theme number of festivals in germany. city of speyer prides pretzel town , , around second weekend of july, friday tuesday, holds annual funfair , festival called brezelfest , largest beer festival in upper rhine region, , attracts around 300,000 visitors. festival includes parade on 100 bands, floats, , clubs participating whole region, , 22,000 pretzels thrown among crowds. on market square of speyer, there fountain statue of boy selling pretzels. pretzel booths on main street permanently installed , specially designed when whole downtown area redone 2000th anniversary. one-day pretzel fests , markets in other german towns in kirchhellen, borough of bottrop, or in kornwestheim. in 2003 , 2004, peace pretzels baked unicef charity event , other charity purposes in munich. instead of typical pretzel loop, made in similar shape of peace symbol.