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On a small square of the center of Münster you can see a sculpture that commemorates no particular person but a whole profession that does not exist any longer: the traveling peddler.
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General view |
The Kiepenkerl sculpture
Photos: Hans-Rudolf Hower, 2007 |
Inscription
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Comment
According to the German Wikipedia, the expression "Kiepenkerl" (literally: pannier-carrying guy) was used in most northern German regions and in the Netherlands, with local variations. Though the word only means a man, there were also some women that practiced the profession of a Kiepenkerl.
According to the same German Wikipedia article, the Münster Kiepenkerl sculpture was used, in 1944, as a template for a Nazi propaganda poster calling for endurance in the war (that Nazi Germany was about to lose).
If the inscription speaks of the 20ies, it means the 20ies of the 20th century. I remember that in other German regions, e.g. near Mannheim and Heidelberg, there were traveling peddlers up to the 60ies but the profession was dividing into two very different branches: On the one hand there were the peddlers coming from charitable organizations and sheltered workshops for disabled persons and on the other hand there were independent peddlers who - rightly or wrongly - had a bad reputation. The local population accused the latter of trickery and theft but I'm afraid those people had rather xenophobic motivations because many peddlers were gypsies. Nowadays both branches have more or less disappeared - as well as the Kiepenkerl of the Münster region.
There are other memorials of traveling peddlers in the world, e.g. in Washington, D.C., by Jeff Koons.
Bibliography
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Author / Title / Subject |
Notes |
Info / Purchase |
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Münster. A City Guide: Map of the City, surrounding maps, bus map |
A city guide to Münster (to be published in 2012). |
amazon.de/at: English. amazon.es: --- amazon.fr: English. amazon.it: --- |
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Journey through North Rhine-Westphalia |
A specialized guide to North Rhine-Westphalia. |
amazon.de/at: English. amazon.es: English. amazon.fr: English. amazon.it: English. |
Internet
Be aware of our legal reservation concerning any Internet reference.
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Address / Owner |
Content / Subjects |
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Official site (in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish). |
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By Google Maps. |
Zoomable city map of Münster. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the city of Münster. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the land of North Rhine-Westphalia. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the historical Province of Westphalia. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the region (Regierungsbezirk) of Münster. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Very short encyclopaedic article on a modern Kiepenkerl sculpture by Jeff Koons, standing in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and referring to the traveling peddler's statue in Münster. |
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In the German Wikipedia. |
Encyclopaedic article on the Münster Kiepenkerl (traveling peddlers) sculpture. |
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In the English Wikipedia. |
Detailed encyclopaedic article on the artist who created the modern Kiepenkerl sculpture standing in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. For further and probably more recent information, see artsy.net. |
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Holidays in Münster? Excellent idea! But where to stay? |
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Whether you are looking for a room, an apartment, a hotel, a guest house,
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Arrival by Public Transport
For the arrival in Münster, see Inscriptions of Münster.
Exiting the Münster railway station, go straight ahead taking the Windhorststraße, then Stubengasse and H.-Brüningstraße. At the end take the Salzstraße to the left, turn right at its end and follow the streets that continue the Prinzipalmarkt to the north (Drubbel > Roggenmarkt > Bogenstraße > Spiekerhof). Just before arriving on the bridge crossing a small water you will see the Kiepenkerl sculpture and the homonymous restaurant on your left.
Indications concerning the arrival correspond to our personal knowledge or even experience, but we cannot assume any responsibility for their rightness. When you are reading this page, things may have changed in reality.
Hans-Rudolf Hower, 2012
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Last updated: April 4, 2016
