Stein Collectors International
Featured Stein: November 2003
Stein Collectors International
Featured Stein: November 2003
~ Burg Grenzau ~ contributed by SCI member Ron Gray SCI Members attending Convention XII in Mettlach/Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany in 1978 will recall visiting Burg Grenzau and should immediately recognize this stein. This character stein is a representation of the unique triangular tower of Burg Grenzau, the only tower of this shape in Europe. Convention attendees were treated to a private tour of the castle and its famous tower. At the conclusion of the tour we were given a black and white print of the castle. I had mine framed to display with my steins (see picture). A few years later, while shopping in a gift shop in Dubuque, Iowa, I saw this stein. Since it seemed to be following me from Germany, I naturally had to have it. The stein was made in the early 1980s by King-Werke Würfel & Müller, exclusively for Tripar International, Inc., in a numbered limited edition of 12,000. Each side of the tower/stein is shown in the pictures included with this article. A relief scene of the castle appears on the front side of the stein, while the history of the castle is summarized in text on the other two sides (see below). The images of Burg Grenzau shown in the black and white print and the one gracing the front of this stein may seem familiar to collectors of contemporary steins. The firm of Albert Jacob Thewalt produced a series of steins circa 1970-1985 featuring an image of the Burg Grenzau and its tower with the words "Grenzau 1894" or "Alt-Grenzau 1894" below that mark. (While the Thewalt firm was founded in 1893, production did not begin until 1894.) This mark generally appears in combination with the Thewalt trademark, and was used on reproductions of steins designed by Wilhelm Kamp (1879-1953). Herr Kamp was employed by Thewalt from 1897 (the year the firm began producing steins) to 1914, designing nearly 800 steins, most of which were based on paintings by Tyrolean artist Franz von Defregger (1835-1921). The village of Grenzau is in the Westerwald area known as Kannenbäckerland, or land of the jug baker. The cities of Höhr, Grenzhausen and Grenzau merged in 1936 to form the city of Höhr-Grenzhausen. Peter Dümler of Dümler and Breiden also had an interest in Burg Grenzau. According to the 100th Anniversary brochure of that firm, his interest resulted in the publication of a brochure on Burg Grenzau and its inhabitants. |
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Thanks to Grace Gurak of Tripar, Albert Jacob Thewalt of Thewalt (also the grandson of the founder of that firm and a member of SCI) and Master Steinologist Art Maethner for providing assistance for this article. |
