Stock im Eisen

The stock - in - iron is the middle part of a zweiwipfeligen Zwiesel spruce from the Middle Ages, which was fogged over with nails. The first written mention dates back to the year 1533. The original still stands in Vienna, Stock-im - Eisen-Platz 3, on the corner between Graben and Kärntner Strasse, known as the Palais Equitable. One calls such strains also nail trees.

History

The spruce of the later Stock-im - iron began to grow around 1400 and 1440 was like, how investigations have shown in 1975. The taper in the middle of the trunk (it is supported by five metal bands), stems from Axtschlägen ago. The anchors began when the tree was still alive (ie before 1440). The reason for the nailing before the 18th century is not known. The trunk is 2.19 m high and stands on a pedestal of Czech hornblende granite, right on the corner of the Equitable. In 1548 he was already at one of the houses at today's Stock-im - Eisen-Platz.

Importance

The custom for traveling forge and blacksmith apprentice to perpetuate themselves with a nail, emerged only in the 18th century. Therefore, it is considered unlikely that it had originally traded at Stock-im - iron to a guild tradition, as it is much older. Although it took a nailing of journeymen instead on the roll from 1715, but this is quite different from the medieval nailing. In Southeastern Europe, such nail trees are well known and can be found in many cities of Hungary, Romania ( Transylvania) and other countries of the former Habsburg monarchy. The Vienna Stock-im - iron is the oldest surviving tree nail.

Close-up

Relief at the entrance of the house, at the corner of the floor is.

The second part of the relief at the Palais Equitable.

Say

To the Stock im Eisen many myths and legends, which mostly date from the 17th and 18th centuries. One of them tells that the devil himself would have laid the base in iron. However, this popular story contains no real details - The Castle is just a dummy, the engraved "HB" probably comes from the homeowner Hans Buettinger that made renew the band in 1575. The mention 1533 calls him that is already as "stock which is in the iron ." Frequently mentioned in tourist guides is precisely the fact that it is a " unaufschließbares Castle ", which yes is correct insofar as no work is included and the castle is therefore a key really not accessible. The well-known story tells also that a thief stolen a nail strikes in the tree when he gets lost in the forest. While 1440 was certainly the tree outside the city walls, but this myth first appears in the 17th century and is therefore probably pure invention. The most likely theory for the medieval nailing is the old custom to beat in crosses, trees and even rocks, nails protect or thanks to the cure of disease - as a votive offering, similar to the custom of the Münzbrunnen or Wünschelbrunnen in which you throw small coins. Nails were in the Middle Ages least expensive commodity that you do not carelessly squandered. An urban legend claims that the Stock - im-Eisen is a replica and the original - at least parts of it - the museum can be seen in Vienna. This is not correct, the strain was not cut yet been replicated in more recent times.