Myths and legends
Dainty and delectable, small and spicy, a sausage for all occasions… that’s the Nuremberg Rostbratwurst. But how did this slimline specimen win out in Franconia, land of the big, hearty sausage? It’s certainly caused a lot of speculation. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of legends, ancient and modern, that try to explain the size of this specialty.
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1
Curing Kaspar
In his lonely cell, Kaspar Hauser had been used to a plant-based diet and therefore rejected anything made from animals. So meat had to be reintroduced as slowly as possible. Tiny little Bratwursts were therefore the perfect remedy!
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2
Through the keyhole...
When the city gates were closed at curfew, latecomers could still be fed through the keyhole with Nuremberg Rostbratwursts, because they are so small.
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3
Taverns too tiny
Legend has it that Nuremberg’s taverns were famously small. The Bratwursts adapted accordingly: late in the evening, they could still be slipped through the keyhole to customers waiting outside the inn.
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4
Holed up
The reason Bratwursts are so small is so that prisoners in Nuremberg’s medieval prison could be fed through the holes they’d made in the cell doors themselves.
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5
Daily prison fare
The Annals of the Imperial City of Nuremberg (1598–1623) include an account of city judge Hans Stromer, who was thrown in the tower in 1554, accused of espionage and embezzlement. During his 38-year imprisonment, he got through about 28,000 Bratwursts!
