Winter and Christmas in Books and Pictures

This Ottonian manuscript belongs to the so-called ‚Rich group‘ of mediaeval book illumination from Cologne and may have been a gift from archbishop Anno of Cologne, who had been director of the Bamberg cathedral school until 1056.

The codex contains the four gospels, each being introduced by a picture of the author and a decorative page.

On a page preceding the prologue for the gospel of John, a blessing Christ is depicted. He is enthroned above the circular earth, whose upper half is populated by angels. Underneath, scenes showing the adoration of an idol and a christening can be seen.

In 1502/3, Albrecht Dürer created the woodcut 'The Birth of Christ', also known as 'Adoration of the Shepherds', as part of his 'Life of the Virgin', which was completed in 1511 and published with Latin texts by Benedictus Chelidonius.

Through a missing wall, the artist grants the viewer an insight into the sacred events that take place in a ruin. While Mary, accompanied by angels, bends over the child on its bed of straw and Joseph hurries over with a jug, shepherds arrive and kneel down. Angels rejoice in the heavens, the star shines brightly and through the round arch the viewer catches a glimpse of archangel Gabriel, who heralds the birth of the Saviour.

In 1516, the Nuremberg artist Ludwig Krug engraved the motif 'The Adoration of the Shepherds' in copper. The original metal plate has been preserved in the Staatsbibliothek Bamberg.

Like Dürer, Krug depicts several scenes in parallel: In the foreground, Mary is shown bending devoutly over the newborn Christ, while the first shepherd steps up to worship the infant. Through a round arch, the viewer catches a glimpse of another shepherd who is just hurrying to the manger, and in the background the archangel Gabriel appears, announcing the birth of the Saviour.

Unlike Dürer, who chose the same setting for both images, the adoration of the kings by Ludwig Krug is set in an interior of noble appearance - a stark contrast to the derelict inn where Mary and Joseph found shelter on Christmas Eve. Behind the three Magi, the royal entourage can be seen approaching the infant Jesus.

In the early 19th century, the copper plate belonged to the famous art gallery of the Nuremberg patrician family Praun. When this collection was auctioned off by the art dealer Frauenholz, the Bamberg art collector Joseph Heller (1798-1849) acquired the item.

The wood carver Veit Stoß originally created this altarpiece showing the birth of Christ for the Carmelite monastery in Nuremberg.

His son Andreas Stoß was the convent's prior and probably invented the iconographic concept for the altar, which was built in 1523. The wood was not coloured - probably intentionally.

Only two years, later the monastery was dissolved during the Reformation. Andreas Stoß moved to Bamberg. In 1543 he negotiated the purchase of the altarpiece for the church of the upper parish (Obere Pfarre).

Four reliefs of the altarpiece had already been lost before 1787. In 1864 they were replaced; in 1934 the arrangement of the figures was changed. The altar was transferred to Bamberg cathedral three years later.

This manuscript from the late 16th century contains the order of service for the Bamberg Collegiate Church of St. Stephen, which was founded in 1020. In 1863, the manuscript passed from the collection of the art collector Martin Joseph von Reider into the possession of the local Historical Society.

The illustration shows a boy designated as the holy bishop Nicholas accompanied by two acolytes. It is the only contemporary pictorial representation of a child bishop.

The schoolboys of the collegiate church elected the child bishop a week before the feast of St Nicholas. He stayed in office until 28 December 28th (the day of the holy Innocents) and played a leading role in singing the chants.

The Lutheran theologian Karl Reinthaler, who founded the Martinsstift in Erfurt in 1821, wanted to promote a harmonious family life. The Stift was located within the former Augustinian monastery where Martin Luther had lived; it was used as a home for poor children.

During the festive season, families were supposed to read from this collection of dialogues and songs under the Christmas tree and to sing together.

The design by the artist Hans Waltenberger (1883-1960) for a poster shows a stylized Christmas tree, decorated with the ensigns of various guilds (for example a scissor, a boot and a pretzel). Underneath, a silhouette of an unidentified Franconian city with half-timbered houses and little towers is shown. This design was probably comissioned by a Chamber of Trade and Industry.

The first edition came out in 1816. E.T.A. Hoffmann, who spend five years of his life in Bamberg, himself designed a vignette showing the two heroes of the title.

In 1840, the Nuremberg artist Peter Carl Geißler created a series of ten copper engravings based on the story. The little book was published with and without Hoffmann's text.

On Christmas Eve, Marie and Fritz receive presents from their parents. While the wild Fritz immediately starts playing with the wooden horse and his new toy sabre, the well-behaved Marie is presented by her parents with a nutcracker.

A revised version was published in numerous editions through the 1920s, illustrated by the Czech Art Nouveau artist Artuš Scheiner.

The Bamberg artist Hans Günter Ludwig summarizes the prologue of the battle between the nutcracker and the mouse king in a densely populated silhouette which he created in 2019.

In order to end the curse on the beautiful Princess Pirlipat, a young man must crack the extremely tough nut Krakatuk. When this feat is accomplished by the nephew of the Supreme Court Councillor Drosselmeier, the royal court dances with joy. Yet in order to remove the curse completely, the nephew has to walk seven steps backwards without stumbling. In doing so he accidentally treads on the queen of mice. As a revenge, she turns him into a nutcracker. Only the love of a devoted woman can rescue him.

In winter one does not only drink mulled wine and eat gingerbread.

The series of Christmas festivities begins on St Martin's day, 11 November. For this occasion, the geese that have been fattened during the year are slaughtered. This custom derives from the legend that St Martin hid in a goose pen in the year 372 in order to avoid being elected Bishop of Tours. However, the geese gave him away with their cackling. For this treason, they have to pay with their lives until today.

Around 1820, a woman with any self-respect had to offer delicate pastries on her coffee or tea table. The recipe for gingerbread from Nuremberg has changed little since then.

At about the same time, a violent argument originated in Munich about the winter beer, a beer with a malty taste and particularly high alcohol content. The price was regarded as too high.

In a fictional conversation set in a pub on 1 January, a traveler explains to the beer drinkers what high profits the brewers make. They responded very quickly, and a downright press campaign broke loose about the Bavarian beer regulatory.

The Bamberg State Library holds a collection of c. 1,500 advertising posters from around 1900 covering a wide range of subject areas: They advertise food and luxury goods such as chocolate, tobacco, coffee, beer or sparkling wine, household appliances and cleaning agents, cosmetics and remedies, bicycles and car accessories as well as clothes, toys, books and much more.

Manufacturers of gingerbread advertised their products on large-format posters as early as the 19th century. In order to catch the potential customer's eye, the advertisement had to be original. This poster from the factory of F. G. Metzger shows a little boy sitting on a stack of gingerbread tins and boxes with views of the city of Nuremberg recognizable on them.

The Munich artist Peter von Halm created picturesque city views, including this drawing of snow-covered Little Venice in Bamberg.

Wine and sparkling wine from the city of Eltville on the Rhine were very popular around 1900. In the 1830s, Matheus Müller was one of the first German manufacturers to use the 'Méthode champenoise' in the production of sparkling wine. The 'MM' brand still exists today.

A cheerful lady is offering a toast to the viewer. She wears a cheeky Pierrot hat and a golden pig on her bracelet - a traditional symbol of luck. The label on her fan indicates that the drink is being advertised as 'Germania-Sect'.

Greeting cards with god wishes for the New Year were very popular. This type, known as vexing cards, contained hidden text or pictures which could be discovered when they were held against the light.

And we also join in in this cheerful wish for a Happy New Year! for you, dear visitors! Take care and above all, stay in good health!