The Stock im Eisen (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: "staff in iron") is the midsection of a tree-trunk from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, a so-called nail-tree (''Nagelbaum''), into which hundreds of

nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip ...

s have been pounded for good luck over centuries. It is located in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, in Stock-im-Eisen-Platz, now part of Stephansplatz, at the corner of the Graben and

Kärntner Straße Kärntner Straße (''Carinthian Street'') is the most famous street in central Vienna. It runs from the Stephansplatz out to the Wiener Staatsoper at Karlsplatz on the Ringstraße The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring roa ...

and is now behind glass on a corner of the

Palais Equitable The Palais Equitable is a mansion in Stock-im-Eisen-Platz (now part of Stephansplatz) in the Innere Stadt of Vienna, Austria, that was built in the 19th century for The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and that incorporates ...

History

The trunk section is tall and is held in place by five iron bands; the iron bears the date 1575 and the initials HB, presumably for Hans Buettinger, the house owner who had the iron replaced. The tree was a forked

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

which started to grow around 1400 and was felled in approximately 1440, Felix and Helga Czeike, ''Wien: Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte der Donaumetropole'', Cologne: DuMont, 1999,
p. 99
(German). as was revealed by examination in 1975. There was regrowth in the middle of the trunk after blows from an axe. The first nails were inserted while the tree was still alive (thus before 1440). The first written mention of it dates to 1533;

Michael Diers Michael Diers (born 15 March 1950, in Werl, West Germany) is a German art historian and professor of art history in Hamburg and Berlin. Diers studied art history, literature, and philosophy in Münster and Hamburg, where he received his doctorate ...

, Andreas Beyer, ''Mo(nu)mente: Formen und Funktionen ephemerer Denkmäler'', Berlin: Akademie, 1993,
p. 115
(German). in 1548, it was already located on the wall of a house in what became Stock-im-Eisen-Platz. The Palais Equitable, which was built on the site in 1891, incorporates the Stock im Eisen in a niche. It stands on a base made of Czech

hornblende Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common in igneous and metamorphic ro ...

granite. Wrought iron vines were added, and the building has ''Zum Stock-im-Eisen'' (At the Stock im Eisen) carved above the door and a bronze sculpture group of locksmith apprentices and the tree trunk, by

Rudolf Weyr Rudolf Weyr, from 14 May 1911, Rudolf Ritter von Weyr (22 March 1847, Vienna - 30 October 1914, Vienna) was an Austrian sculptor in the Neo-Baroque style. Life He studied under Franz Bauer and Josef Cesar and was employed by the latter fo ...

, in the tympanum. In addition, there are a pair of representations of the legend by the same artist on the doors. File:BERMANN(1880) p0852 Der Stock im Eisen.jpg, Illustration from Bermann ''Alt- und Neu-Wien'' (1880) File:Stock im Eisen 002.jpg, Another view of the Stock im Eisen today File:Stock im Eisen Relief 001.jpg, One of the reliefs on the door of the Palais Equitable illustrating the legend of the Stock im Eisen File:Stock im Eisen Relief 002.jpg, Second relief illustrating the legend

Significance

In the 18th century, a custom developed that travelling

smiths Smiths or Smith's may refer to: Companies *Smith Electric Vehicles, or Smith's, a manufacturer of electric trucks *Smith's Food and Drug, or Smith's, an American supermarket chain ** Smith's Ballpark, a baseball stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S ...

and apprentices would hammer a nail into the tree trunk; in particular, from 1715 on, travelling journeyman locksmiths. The reason for doing so before then is unknown; however, it is unlikely to have been a

craft guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

custom in the beginning, because the Stock im Eisen is significantly older. "Nail trees" are well known in Southeastern Europe and are found in many cities in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

(in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

) and other countries of the former

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

; the Vienna Stock im Eisen is the oldest preserved nail tree. The custom persisted until the late 19th century, and inspired the "

men of iron ''Men of Iron'' is an 1891 novel by the American author Howard Pyle, who also illustrated it. Set in the 15th century, it is a juvenile "coming of age" work in which a young squire, Myles Falworth, seeks not only to become a knight but to eventua ...

" statues that were used for propaganda and fund-raising in Germany and Austria in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, particularly the tree set up in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. The most likely explanation for the medieval nails is the ancient custom of hammering nails into crosses, trees and even rocks for protection or in gratitude for healing, that is as a

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generall ...

, similar to throwing coins into a

wishing well A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deities or had been placed there as a ...

or a pond. In the Middle Ages, nails were a valuable commodity that people did not waste. The original mythico-religious and legal significance of the Stock im Eisen was effaced in later centuries by an emphasis on crafts. Leopold Schmidt suggested that the tree was originally used as a surveying point defining the "mythic centre" of the city.

Legends

Many legends surround the Stock im Eisen, mostly dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1703 it was said to be the last remaining tree from the ancient forest; the 1911 ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various ...

'' says it is the last of a sacred grove around which the city sprang up. One legend recounts that the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

himself put the tree trunk in irons, or at least guards it. Another tells that a locksmith's apprentice who stole a valuable nail from his master, or wanted to marry his master's daughter, learnt from the Devil how to make an unopenable lock with which to enclose it, and in one version also an identical nail to hammer in beside the stolen one. However, the details of the legends betray their lack of truth. The padlock which guides to Vienna often refer to as "unopenable" is only for show, and cannot be opened simply because the insides of the lock are no longer there and so it will not accept a key. Already in 1533 it is referred to as ''Stock der im Eisen liegt'', "staff that lies in irons". In addition, the well known legend recounts that a thief hammered a stolen nail into the tree as he was fleeing through the forest. Admittedly, the tree was certainly outside the city walls in 1440, but the legend only appeared in the 17th century, when the area was already urban and the Stock im Eisen mounted on the side of a house, and hence is presumably pure invention. The legends of the Devil and the Stock im Eisen are the subject of an 1880

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

by Pasquale Borri, to music by

Franz Doppler Albert Franz Doppler (16 October 182127 July 1883), was a flute virtuoso and a composer best known for his flute music. He also wrote one German and several Hungarian operas for Budapest, all produced with great success. His ballet music was pop ...

. A modern legend holds that the Stock im Eisen is a replica and that the original – or at least parts of it – is exhibited in the

Vienna Museum The Vienna Museum (german: Wien Museum or ''Museen der Stadt Wien'') is a group of museums in Vienna consisting of the museums of the history of the city. In addition to the main building in Karlsplatz and the Hermesvilla, the group includes num ...

. This is not true; the tree trunk has neither been divided up nor replicated in recent times. A commentary about this trunk was given in 1856 by Theodore Nielsen, a Danish kleinsmith journeyman in his memoirs.''"With Staff in Hand:" Memories of my wanderings in foreign lands''; Aarhus Jutland Publishing, 1903 "Outside Stefan church was a place called "Stock im Eisen" and a boutique in which was a large portrait of a Danish King Frederick VI. The park gets its name from a large tree trunk that stands in one corner with an iron fence around it. The trunk is covered with iron nails so tight from the root up that one could not get room for even a needle between. It is a peculiar sight and this is the legend: Once upon a time there was a castle nearby with a gatelock that was so intricate that even another kleinsmith could not take it apart or unlock it. In the honor of the lock and in his memory every journeyman kleinsmith who found work in Vienna had to hammer a nail into the trunk. It had been there for many a year and was still worth seeing being protected as it is by local pride."

References

Sources

*Alfred Burgerstein. ''Der 'Stock im Eisen' der Stadt Wien''. Vienna, 1893. *Leopold Schmidt. "Der 'Stock im Eisen' als mythischer Stadtmittelpunkt Wiens". ''Jahrbuch des Vereines für Geschichte der Stadt Wien'' 10 (1952/53), pp. 75–81.

External links

Poem of the Stock im Eisen
(German) {{Coord, 48.2079, 16.3717, type:landmark_region:AT, display=title Squares in Vienna Individual trees in Austria Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt 15th-century establishments in Austria Tourist attractions in Vienna History of Vienna Nail (fastener)