Fabulous Franconia

I started this sketchbook page donks ago and here we are finished!

My wee wine town with its vineyards, wine and half-timbered buildings. I mentioned the Käppele in my last post, a tiny wee chapel where villagers and tourists visit as a pilgrimage site and in late summer locals carry a statue of Mary from the village far below up to the chapel in her honour. As it is extremely high and steep I don’t envy them but look forward to seeing the procession. 

In the sketch you can see a typical German ''Nasenschild'', which translates as nose sign; these are wrought iron and enamel signs above inns, restaurants and pubs in German towns. Dating back to the middle ages they are a way of advertising your wares even to those who were illiterate. The name of the inn is usually written on the sign but is often represented symbolically, here by the angel. Because this sign is on an old inn there are beds in the sign, knives and forks and you can see the beer mug hanging below a six pointed star. I often wondered about the star of David being featured in many brewery signs or on beer bottles, it is in no way anti-semitic,  it was a very old way of showing guests that breweries had a license not only to sell beer but also to serve their own brew on the premises. Although my home town is a famous for its wine, beer was obviously brewed and drunk here too! 

Whether with beer or wine, I'll drink to finishing this page ….. it was thirsty work, prost!