German Language Blog

The Meissen Porcelain is a world-renowned production of porcelain only made in Germany.

With 300 years of history, in which friedrich Böttger first announcing this white gold for the Saxony King, however first being produced by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus.

In truth it’s the first European china that is still in production till this day as the “Staatliche Porzellan- Manufakftur Meissen ( Manufactur )

Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the crossed swords is one of the oldest trademark in existence, which dominated the style of European porcelain until 1756.

In order to identify the original Meissen products, Meissen developed markings that initially were painted on, but were soon fired in underglaze blue. Early markings such as AR (Augustus Rex, the monogram of the King), K.P.M. (Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur), M.P.M. (Meissener Porzellan-Manufaktur), and K.P.F. (“Königliche Porzellan-Fabrik) were eventually replaced by the crossed swords logo. The “crossed swords” logo allows approximate dating of the wares.

The rarity and expense of Meissen porcelain meant that originally it could only be bought by the upper classes.

Meissen took orders from the elites of Russia, France, England and other European countries. The European wealthy accumulated vast collections and when a wealthy class emerged in the United States people started their own collections. Many of these collections then found their way into the world’s great museums.

Where as in Dresden Germany you can still visit and see the white jewel at the State Museum.

At the beginning, the Meissen manufactory was owned by the King of Saxony, by 1830 it came to belong to the State of Saxony. After World War II, most of the equipment was sent to the Soviet Union as part of war reparations.

The company became a Soviet Joint Stock Company in Germany. Almost all of the production was sent to the Soviet Union, a crucial step that kept the artisan community alive. After the establishment of the German Democratic Republic, the company was handed over to German ownership in 1950 and became people owned company Meissen Porzellan turned out to be one of the few profitable companies in the economically troubled East German system, earning much needed foreign currency. After the German reunification in 1990, the company was restored to the State of Saxony, which is the sole owner. While its products are expensive, ( Teuer ) the high quality ( Hohe qualität ) and artistic value ( der wert )  make Meissen porcelain very desirable by collectors and connoisseurs.

Expensive- teuer

high quality- hohe qualität

Value- der wert

Today I want to introduce a Swabian delicacy to you. It´s called “Spätzle” and it is really the number one pasta in the south of Germany, especially in Baden-Württemberg.

Spätzle are mostly self made and can be eaten as a side order in combination with other food (like all kinds of meat for example) or, in combination with other ingredients, as a main dish. There are industrial made Spätzle as well, but I cannot recommend them!

There are different ways to prepare Spätzle. The way I do it is with a special machine. This way the Spätzle are prepared much faster. Especially when you don´t have the manual skills like older generations. Nevertheless you will learn more about the manual way in the youtube video on the bottom.

Recipe

The recipe for the dough is quite simple. You only need the following ingredients (for 4 persons):

• 500g flour

• 4-5 eggs

• Some water (approx. 150 ml)

• Some salt

You put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir as long until the dough gets some bubbles. Therefore you can use whether a wooden spoon or some stirring gear. Before you start preparing the dough you can already set up a big pot filled with water on the stove.

So when the water boils, you put some of the dough in the machine (or on a wooden board, depends on the way you do the Spätzle) and press them into the water. When the Spätzle come to the surface of the water, let them boil another minute. Then catch them with a basting ladle and put them in a sifter to get rid of the rest of the water.

Source of the pictures: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A4tzlepresse

Now repeat the whole thing until all of the dough is gone. Voila! Enjoy your meal!

The most popular meals with Spätzle are the following:

Linsen mit Spätzle (Lentils with Spätzle) – Typical Swabian

Gaisburger Marsch – Swabian Hotpot

Leberspätzle – Another ingredient for the dough is liver in this variation

Kässpätzle – This is the most popular variation which has its tradition in “Schwaben”, in the “Allgäu” and in “Vorarlberg” (specific regions in Germany and Austria). They are prepared with different sorts of cheese and onions. Very delicious!

There are a lot more variations, but if you know these ones, you´re already a connoisseur

Here´s a cute video I found on youtube. It shows an elderly Swabian woman preparing Spätzle in different ways. It´s all in German, but I think you will catch the most important things.

Was first founded 1951 as the successor of the German academy- Deutsche akademie-

The Goethe institute is a non-profit institution that operates worldwide which promotes the study of the German language overseas and encourages international cultural and exchange relations to other countries.

The institute also provides information about politics, films, music, theatre and literature, but also the values of civil society.

The institute receives its material from partners but also from people whom have had cross-cultural experience yet also of private cultural institutes, the federal states, local authorities and the world commerce.

The institute itself is named after Johann Wolgang von Goethe whom was a German writer ( Der Schriftsteller ) and polymath, who was considered by many as the most important writer in German language and one of the most prominent thinkers  in the western culture. Johann Goethe being one of the key thinkers of German literature and the movement ( Bewegung ) of the Weimar Classicism in the 18^th century.

The Goethe-Institute is mainly financed by the national government of Germany, and has around 3,300 employees and an overall budget of approximately 278 million euros at its disposal, more than half of which is generated from language course tuition and examination fees. The Goethe-Institute offers scholarships to students from foreign countries and is also a good source for inquiring about German books, learning material or even for German newcomers to a certain country needing help finding educational sources for their children or receiving media news from back home.

German Acadamy- Deutsche Akademie

Writer- Der Schriftsteller

movement- Die Bewegung