The Steinerner Mann (Stone Man) in Augsburg

The Legends

The stone man, which is translated as Steinerne Mann in German and in dialect Stoinana Mo, is an oddly shaped statue with an intriguing tale to tell.

Technically, two legends are known, but the natives talk about the first version only.

Tale #1

A short historical summary will help you understand the setting for tale #1.

Augsburg is a historical city in Bavaria, Southern Germany, and Catholics and Evangelists lived for a while in peace after the reformation.

During the chaotic Thirty Years' War, the Swedish first occupied the city. Their troops were defeated not far away by the catholic troops of the Holy Roman Emperor, but the Swedish army in Augsburg refused to surrender and a siege soon followed.

This siege went on for months, and in November 1634, the natives feared dying of hunger. They wouldn't have survived the harsh, freezing winter without food, and they didn't have the usual autumn harvest as a backup.

Here is where the legend begins. A baker named Konrad Hacker baked a large loaf of bread with sawdust, and the flour he had left, and climbed on the city fortification.

He presented his loaf of sawdust bread to the Catholic troops. The objective was to imply that the inhabitants of the city had ample food and resources available for the upcoming months.

They in turn shot him down with a field culverin cannonball (another source mentions a crossbow bolt), which ripped apart his arm holding the loaf of bread. The baker succumbed days later of his deadly wounds.

The troops left the siege after the incident with the baker because there was no point in besieging a well rationed city through the harsh winter, and the moral of the troops must have been low at this point.

To commemorate the baker's bravery, and because he saved the ones who survived, they built him a statue.

Due to deadly diseases and starvation, the siege reduced the population of Augsburg from, 70000 to just 16000 inhabitants.

Tale #2

The second tale isn't as well known and came from a parish vicar of the 18/19th century. It's similar to the first tale.

When the Western Roman Empire declined, the city was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century.

As the story goes, a brave soldier sat atop the fortification walls eating a loaf of bread while Attila the Hun and his forces surrounded Augsburg in 543 AD.

Upon seeing this, the Huns abandoned the siege and left, believing the city had more than enough provisions to withstand their attack.

There are confusions with the 5th and 6th centuries in this story.

The Truth

Apparently, the city Archives of Augsburg had numerous investigators trying to make sense of the statues' history in the past 200 years, but it remains a mystery and a story with many holes.

Either timelines don't fit or the names are murky, and then, of course, bakers and simple soldiers were rarely remembered by their names throughout the ages. Except if the Grimm brothers picked up on the story.

Legends started to be categorized as myths in the 19th century. They were perceived as true stories during the previous centuries.

The bizarre statue consists of different parts, and the bottom could be a Roman statue structure. Besides, city archive scribes recalled that the statue was painted as well.

The nose fell off at some point and was replaced by a metal nose, and the bread arm was ironically damaged during the allied bombings of Augsburg during WWII.

Traditionally today, couples rub the nose of the Steinerne Mann for good luck.

Location

Originally, the stone man stood somewhere else and was moved to the age-old fortification walls after WWII. This is where he stands now.

Head to the remains of the city walls near the old town and walk through the Schwedenstiege (Swedish stairs). Walk along the walls northwards and to your left, at the corner against the wall stands the stone man.

A few steps further and a passage takes you to the other side of the wall where you will find an abbey.