Nuremberg Sausage Protection Association

Smaller, Finer, Nuremberger

Kasper Hauser, who appeared in Nuremberg in 1828 as a mysterious foundling, was only fed vegetarian food in his dungeon. That’s why the 16-year-old didn’t want to eat meat once he was set free. But the little sausages in Nuremberg are incomparable, so he decided to eat them!

In the Middle Ages, there was a curfew and the gates were locked at night. To fortify guests who arrived too late to enter the city, bratwurst were passed through the keyholes in the city gates.

Nuremberg was famous for its many - and often small – inns and taverns. The sausage had to fit to the size of the room! That’s why they are only half as large as wurst in the rest of Franconia.

And now something underground: Prisoners were fed with the small sausages through holes in the walls of the dungeon – hence the name Lochgefängnisse!

In 1554, as the city judge Hans Stromer was thrown into jail for spying and embezzlement – a 38-year-long sentence – his last wish was to be fed two Nuremberg bratwurst a day. All together 28,000 sausages were delivered to his cell!