![Bavarian-pattern Tens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Bavarian-pattern_Tens.jpg)
German-suited playing cards are a very common style of traditional
playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...
used in many parts of
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
characterised by 32- or 36-card packs with the
suits of
Acorns (''Eichel'' or ''Kreuz''),
Leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
(''Grün'', ''Blatt'', ''Laub'', ''Pik'' or ''Gras''),
Hearts (''Herz'' or ''Rot'') and
Bells (''Schelle'', ''Schell'' or ''Bolle''). The German suit system is one of the oldest, becoming standard around 1450 and, a few decades later, influencing the design of the now international
French suit system
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
of Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds. Today German-suited playing cards are common in south and east Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein, north Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, northern Serbia (Vojvodina province) and central and western Romania.
History
Playing cards (''Spielkarten'') originally entered
German-speaking
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...
lands around the late 1370s. The earliest cards were probably Latin-suited like those used in Italy and Spain.
After much experimentation, the cards settled into the four aforementioned suits around 1450.
Closely related
Swiss playing cards are used in
German-speaking Switzerland
The German-speaking part of Switzerland (german: Deutschschweiz, french: Suisse alémanique, it, Svizzera tedesca, rm, Svizra tudestga) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switze ...
. The French suit symbols, well known internationally and especially in English-speaking countries, were derived from the German ones around 1480.
German-suited packs originally had four court cards per suit (King, Queen, Ober and Unter), but the Queen was dropped in the early 16th century. The ten was often depicted with a banner and known as the ''Banner'' or ''Panier''; this survives in Swiss-suited cards, but died out in Germany in the mid-16th century, although it continued to be called by the name ''Panier'' until at least 1783. The Aces had been dropped even earlier, probably by the 1470s, leaving the standard German pack with 48 cards; the Deuce being promoted into the gap left by the Ace. During the 18th century, the 48-card pack was further reduced to 36, although there is evidence of 48-card, so-called 'Karniffel' packs being sold until the first half of the 19th century in places.
German-suited cards spread throughout Central Europe into areas that were once under German or
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 ...
n control:
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, Croatia a ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
(in the regions of
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 Ap ...
and
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
),
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
in
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 ...
,
Transcarpathia
Transcarpathia may refer to:
Place
* relative term, designating any region beyond the Carpathians (lat. ''trans-'' / beyond, over), depending on a point of observation
* Romanian Transcarpathia, designation for Romanian regions on the inner or ...
in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and bordering regions of Slovakia, and in parts of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. They were also produced and used as far east as
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
until the early 20th century. German-suited decks are still well known all over these countries including parts of Germany itself although they have been undergoing strong competition from
French playing cards
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are playing cards, cards that use the French Suit (cards), suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three o ...
since the late 17th-century.
Until the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
(1618–1648), German-suited cards were used in all German-speaking regions of Europe. However, the war saw
French-suited cards
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
being introduced through the movement of soldiers and they eventually ousted the German cards across large parts of the German nation. North of the
River Main
The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, Hesse. The cities of Mainz and Wiesb ...
only the Prussian-Silesian pattern, common in
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, was able to hold on. After its annexation by Prussia in the 18th century,
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
began to use the Prussian pattern cards instead of the hitherto dominant Austrian pattern. Today, the most common pattern of cards used in much of Germany are the French-suited,
Berlin pattern
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
, although German-suited cards are also widely used in some regions.
Traditional card games in which German suits are used include
Binokel
Binokel is a card game for two to eight players that originated in Switzerland as Binocle, but spread to the German state of Württemberg, where it is typically played with a Württemberg pattern pack. It is still popular in Württemberg, where i ...
,
Doppelkopf
Doppelkopf (, lit. ''double-head''), sometimes abbreviated to Doko, is a trick-taking card game for four players. The origins of this game are not well known; it is only recorded from the early 20th century and it is assumed that it originated f ...
,
Gaigel
Gaigel is a card game from the Württemberg region of Germany and is traditionally played with Württemberg suited cards. It is a Swabian variant of Sechsundsechzig and may be played with 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. However, a significant difference fro ...
,
Schafkopf
Schafkopf (), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular i ...
,
Skat,
Tarock
Tarot games are card games played with tarot decks, that is, decks with numbered permanent trumps parallel to the suit cards. The games and decks which English-speakers call by the French name Tarot are called Tarocchi in the original Italian, ...
and
Watten
Watten may refer to:
Places
* Watten, Nord, a commune in the Nord ''département'' of France
** ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' or Watten bunker, intended to be a launching facility for the V-2 ballistic missile
* Watten, Highland, a village in Cai ...
.
Composition
![Dauskarte mit Schwein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Dauskarte_mit_Schwein.jpg)
German suited decks tend to have fewer cards than either the
French,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, or
Italian sets. The typical northern German pack has 32 cards ranking from 7, 8, 9, 10, Under
Knave (''
Unter'' = ''Untermann'' i.e. subordinate, underling or sergeant), Over Knave (''
Ober'' = ''Obermann'' i.e. superordinate, overlord or officer),
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
(''König''), and "
Ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
" (''Ass'') for a total of 32 cards. The "Ace" is really a
Deuce
Deuce, Deuces, or The Deuce may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Deuce, in the ''Danger Girl'' comic book series
* Deuce, a character in ''Shake It Up''
* Deuce, in the ''Wild Cards'' science fiction universe
* Deuce Biga ...
(''Daus'') as indicated by its two suit symbols. Today, however, it is rarely if ever called a ''Daus''. Southern patterns have 36 cards by including the 6. In South Tyrol, 40-card, German-suited packs are still produced so that Italian games can be played with them. In 2019,
ASS Altenburger
ASS Altenburger is since 2003 the trademark of the German playing card manufacturer Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg, based in the town of Altenburg. The firm is owned by Cartamundi, of Turnhout, Belgium. ASS (''Altenburger und Stralsunder Spielkarten ...
produced a double 52-card, German-suited pack for the game of
Rommé. However, uniquely, it had Queens and Jacks instead of Obers and Unters.
In Bavaria, Austria and South Tyrol, the 6 of Bells (or sometimes the 7 of Bells where there is no 6) is known as the ''
Weli
The ''Weli'', formerly ''Welli'', is a playing card used in the Salzburg and William Tell card decks, which are Austrian regional patterns of the German-suited playing cards. It has the value of 6 of Bells and, in the South Tyrol variant of the ...
'' or ''Belle'' which is often used as a
wild card. The ''Weli'' first appeared around 1855 in the discontinued Tyrolean pattern and later the Salzburg and Tell patterns. The 7 of Bells is sometimes known as the ''Belli'' and the 7 of Acorns as the ''Spitz'' or ''Soacher'' and they are of comparable use, with the ''Weli'' being the higher card. For instance, in the Bavarian
Watten
Watten may refer to:
Places
* Watten, Nord, a commune in the Nord ''département'' of France
** ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' or Watten bunker, intended to be a launching facility for the V-2 ballistic missile
* Watten, Highland, a village in Cai ...
game the top three cards following the respective trump ace are - in descending order: ''Maxi'' (= the King of Hearts, nicknamed after
Bavaria's first King), ''Belli'' (or ''Welli'') and ''Spitz''. With the exception of the New Altenburg pattern, all cards with the rank of 10 include the Roman numeral X at the top centre of the card.
The Ace in German and Swiss German sets have a peculiar history. Aces disappeared from German decks during the 15th century. When the Ace was promoted above the King in French packs during the 16th century, the Deuce did so as well in Germany leading to the conflation of the Ace and Deuce. This is why in most packs the Ace depicts two pips and is also called a ''
Daus
The Deuce (german: Daus, plural: ''Däuser'') is the playing card with the highest value in German card games. It may have derived its name from dice games in which the face of the die with two pips is also called a ''Daus'' in German. '' (deuce). Confusion is avoided when the 7 or 6 became the lowest card in most packs during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Players also avoid confusion by alternatively calling the Ace/Deuce a ''Sau'' (sow).
Patterns
Many regions have their own pattern (''Bild'') which features their own unique artwork or number of cards. Some patterns are descended from much earlier ones like the Saxon pattern which can trace their ancestry to the 15th-century Stukeley type cards named after their identifier,
William Stukeley
William Stukeley (7 November 1687 – 3 March 1765) was an English antiquarian, physician and Anglican clergyman. A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric ...
, in 1763.
Northern
![DSC07230 Doppelkopf Altenburger Spielkarten Deutsches Blatt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/DSC07230_Doppelkopf_Altenburger_Spielkarten_Deutsches_Blatt.jpg)
Northern patterns include the Saxon pattern, in old, new and double-figured variants, the Lower Saxon pattern and the two types of Prussian, or Prussian-Silesian, pattern. Most were originally produced with 36 cards but this was reduced to 32 cards after the spread of
Skat. In northern patterns, the acorns are red. The only traditional northern pattern still in regular production is the Saxon pattern where only pip cards have corner indices. It is a product of a long evolution from the primitive Stukeley type cards imported from Nuremberg.
However, other patterns, such as the single-headed ''Schwerterkarte'' or various types of Prussian double-headed pattern, are still produced as special editions.
The older variant of the Saxon single-headed pattern originated in Leipzig and Dresden in the early 18th century, being typified by the ''Schwerterkarte'', named after the crossed swords on the coat of arms of the Deuces of Acorns. Replicas of this early type are still made, for example the 1835 example produced by
Altenburger. A newer, more elaborate, variant emerged in the early 19th century. Both designs feature a great lion on the Acorn Deuce, lovers being surprised on the Deuce of Bells and the Unter of Bells holding a tame bird. The pip cards feature a range of ornamental scenes from animals, legendary and real, to biblical scenes. The latter fell away in the double-headed versions that came into vogue at the end of the 19th century and are still in production today.
These older northern patterns have been eclipsed by the double-headed New Altenburg, New German or East German pattern, created by Walter Krauss (1908-1985) in the former
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, which added corner indices to every card but the Aces and cleverly changed the dimensions of the cards to match those of standard poker or rummy cards.
In 2018,
ASS Altenburger
ASS Altenburger is since 2003 the trademark of the German playing card manufacturer Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg, based in the town of Altenburg. The firm is owned by Cartamundi, of Turnhout, Belgium. ASS (''Altenburger und Stralsunder Spielkarten ...
(ASS) launched the first 52-card, German-suited pack to be manufactured for several centuries as part of a
Rommé set comprising 2 packs of 52 cards plus 2 jokers each. This limited edition of 1000 sets was sold out almost immediately and so, in 2019, ASS published a revised set taking account of customer feedback. Despite being German-suited, the cards feature Queens and Jacks instead of Obers and Unters. The Queens had also been designed by Krauss originally, but they were unpopular when introduced in the 1960s. In addition, there are Twos as well as Deuces (called Aces).
In
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
there was also a pack known as Ruimpf cards (''Rümpffkarte'' or ''Rümpfkarte'') that was produced from the 16th to the 18th century, before being replaced by the Saxon pattern. Ruimpf or Ruempf (German: ''Rümpfspiel'' or ''Rümpffen'') was the name of a game for which the precise rules are unknown. Ruimpf cards are believed to have originated in south Germany and destined for export to the
Ore Mountains. They were narrower than the almost square cards of the Ansbach pattern.
Southern
The 36 card Bavarian (Munich and Stralsund types), Franconian, and Salzburg (or ''einfachdeutsche'') patterns are descended from the Old Bavarian pattern which itself goes back to the 15th-century Augsburg pattern.
In all variants the Obers and Unters are portrayed as fighters, with the Ober and Unter of Leaves carrying a drum and fife respectively. Bavarian cards have an aspect ratio of roughly 2:1. In the non-reversible (Einfach) pattern which used to be commonplace, various pictorial designs were used, especially on the pip cards. These individual scenes are now only found on the Deuces (also called Twos, Sows, or Aces). Since the 1980s, Italian manufacturers have included 5s into their Salzburg decks to allow the German speaking South Tyroleans to play Italian card games that require 40 cards with suits they are more familiar with. Salzburg decks also inherited the "Weli" from its extinct sibling, the Tyrolean pattern.
The Salzburg pattern remains non-reversible and lacks corner indices. Most games require only 32 cards by excluding the 6s such as
Schafkopf
Schafkopf (), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular i ...
. Games that require the full deck include
Bavarian Tarock
Bavarian Tarock (german: Bayerisches Tarock) or, often, just Tarock, is a card game that was once popular in Bavaria and also played in parts of Austria as well as Berlin. The name is a clue to its origin in the historical German game of ross-ar ...
,
Jass
:Jass ''was also an early name for Jazz music. For other uses, see JASS.''
Jass ()David Parlett ''The Oxford guide to card games'', pg. 292-293, David Parlett (1990) is a family of trick taking, Ace-Ten card games and, in its key forms, a distin ...
,
Tapp
The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompani ...
and some versions of
Watten
Watten may refer to:
Places
* Watten, Nord, a commune in the Nord ''département'' of France
** ''Blockhaus d'Éperlecques'' or Watten bunker, intended to be a launching facility for the V-2 ballistic missile
* Watten, Highland, a village in Cai ...
.
Patterns that are still printed:
* Bavarian Doppelbild, Munich type
* Bavarian Doppelbild, Stralsund type
* Franconian reversible pattern
* Bohemian (or Prague) pattern
* Salzburg pattern (also called the single German or simple German pattern)
Patterns that have ceased printing:
* Old Bavarian pattern (common predecessor) with variants in Poland and Russia
* Bavarian-Swabian pattern
* Isarkreis pattern (predecessor of the Salzburg pattern)
* Lemberg pattern
* Nuremberg Eagle (coat of arms) cards
* Regensburg pattern (predecessor of the Bohemian pattern)
* Tyrolean pattern
The Bohemian (or Prague) pattern pack is the standard one still used in the
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n part of the Czech Republic. It is closely related to the Salzburg pattern of Austria and thus is also descended from the Old Bavarian - one of the oldest German-suited packs - but there are only 32 cards in the pack, like the northern ones. The cards are single-headed and lack corner indices. and are used for playing traditional regional games. The Knaves represent soldiers and hold spears, halberds or swords or, in the case of the suit of Leaves, are depicted playing a fife or drum. The Kings are seated and come with two suit marks like the Deuces. The pip cards have miniature scenes of animals or rural life. Today the pattern is still produced by Společnost Hrací Karty 1884.
Origins
The Augsburg pattern was one of the two ancestors (the other being the Ulm-Munich pattern) of the present Bavarian pattern pack and appeared around 1500.
The four kings sitting on thrones are each accompanied by two armed servants.
The Ober and Unter of Leaves are military musicians, the Ober is a bagpipe-playing fool; the Unter is playing a ‘fanfare’ or flute.
The Ober and Unter of Hearts are armed with polearms, the Ober and Unter of Bells with swords, The Ober and Unter of Acorns carry a mace and bossed shield.
In the middle of the 17th century, after the
Thirty Years’ War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
, the Augsburg pattern changed into the so-called Old Bavarian pattern.
The Ober and Unter of Acorns were now each armed with a sword and parrying dagger.
The Ober and Unter of Leaves now carried a drum and fife respectively; from now on the drummer and fifer became the distinguishing feature of the Bavarian pattern.
Obers and Unters of the same suit were armed, as in a fencing school, with the same weapons.
In this period the number of cards was reduced from the former 48 (the One – Ace – had already disappeared) to 36 (the Three, Four and Five were removed; the Two or Deuce already outranked the King by that time), probably due to paper shortages.
In the late 17th century, during the Turkish Wars, the Kings of Leaves and Acorns swapped their crowns for turbans.
The Deuces depicted various scenes. The Deuce of Leaves had a pyramid with a unicorn, deer and eagle; the Deuce of Acorns depicted Bacchus, the Deuce of Bells had a wild boar being attacked by a hunting dog and, on the Deuce of Hearts was usually a Cupid.
Around 1750 this pattern became widespread across the whole old Bavarian region.
Smaller variations of this pattern became common in
Congress Poland
Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
from 1918.
,
Modern Bavarian patterns
In the newly formed
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
, the Old Bavarian pattern changed after 1810 into the Modern Bavarian pattern. A vase now appears on the Deuce of Leaves and the King of Acorns was given a crown again, leaving the King of Leaves as the only 'oriental' figure. The Ober of Heart has now exchanged his polearm for a sword on which he rests. The Ober and Unter of Acorns now only carry one weapon, however, Ober of Acorns also carries an oval shield. This type, designed by Munich card maker, Josef Fetscher, draughted by
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
card maker,
C. L. Wüst
C. or c. may refer to:
* Century, sometimes abbreviated as ''c.'' or ''C.'', a period of 100 years
* Cent (currency), abbreviated ''c.'' or ''¢'', a monetary unit that equals of the basic unit of many currencies
* Caius or Gaius, abbreviated ...
, and manufactured around 1854, is known today as the Munich type of the Bavarian pattern. It has been widely used thanks to its production by the playing-card manufacturers, F. X. Schmid. In 1882, the ''United Altenburger und Stralsunder Spielkarten-Fabriken'' printed their own version of the Bavarian pattern, which went back to a design by Frankfurt card manufacturer’s Lennhoff & Heuser. The Kings, Obers and Unters were dressed in fantasy uniforms in the style of historicism. Essential distinguishing features of this Stralsund type of the Bavarian pattern from its Munich type are:
* The Ober of Leaves carries the drum on his right knee instead of the left.
* The Unter of Acorns wears a
beret
A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre.
Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...
.
* The Ober of Acorns has a pointed shield instead of an oval one.
* The Bacchus on the Deuce of Acorn has a beer mug instead of a wine goblet.
* The Cupid has butterfly wings.
In the 20th century, the pip and court cards were gradually marked with indices and the misprinting of Deuces with the letter ''A'', instead of the more accurate ''D'', prevailed.
After the Second World War, the previously dominant non-reversible cards finally disappeared and were replaced by the reversible designs that are still widespread today. Non-reversible versions are occasionally reprinted but for the interest of collectors as opposed for gaming. For example, in 1980, ASS produced a limited run of non-reversible packs of the Munich type for export to West Germany.
Württemberg
The
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
pattern was invented around 1865 by C.L. Wüst and bears many unique features. The kings were copied from French-suited patterns now found in the Netherlands and Portugal. The Obers were inspired by the
Knights
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in
Adler Cego
Animal Tarot (German: ''Tiertarock'') is a genre of tarot decks used for playing card games that were most commonly found in northern Europe, from Belgium to Russia, only one of which has survived: the Adler Cego pattern in south Germany. A theme ...
decks used in nearby
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
. Unters are
journeymen
A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
in broad-brimmed hats.
Unlike other German-suited patterns, the cards were only ever produced in double-headed format. A younger type of the Württemberg pattern, manufactured by
the Nuremberg Playing Card Company (NSV) and others using different court designs, also exists.
In the present, the cards are sold as a doubled pack of 48 cards (24 unique cards duplicated). The duplicated cards (7, 10, U, O, K, A of each suit) are used to play
Doppelkopf
Doppelkopf (, lit. ''double-head''), sometimes abbreviated to Doko, is a trick-taking card game for four players. The origins of this game are not well known; it is only recorded from the early 20th century and it is assumed that it originated f ...
,
Pinochle
Pinochle (), also called pinocle or penuchle, is a trick-taking, Ace-Ten card game typically for two to four players and played with a 48-card deck. It is derived from the card game bezique; players score points by trick-taking and also by form ...
, and
Gaigel
Gaigel is a card game from the Württemberg region of Germany and is traditionally played with Württemberg suited cards. It is a Swabian variant of Sechsundsechzig and may be played with 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. However, a significant difference fro ...
. They used to be produced in 36 card packs (with every card unique), like other southern patterns, to play
Württembergischer Tarock
Tapp (Swabian: Dapp or Dappen) is a trick-taking, card game for 3 or 4 players using 36 French-suited cards that is played in the south German region of Swabia, especially in the former Kingdom of Württemberg. It is the French-suited offshoot of G ...
. This was the original format, but by 1985 it was restricted to the
Palatinate where it eventually died out.
Pressman Toy has published a 48 card version, in which every card is unique, to play
Karnöffel
Karnöffel is a trick-taking card game which probably came from the upper-German language area in Europe in the first quarter of the 15th century. It first appeared listed in a municipal ordinance of Nördlingen, Bavaria, in 1426 among the games ...
. It uses the younger type and is mislabelled as the Bavarian pattern.
Tell
The
Tell, Hungarian or Double German (''doppeldeutsche'') pattern is popular throughout 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 between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. The Ober and Unter cards depict William Tell and other characters from
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
's ''
Wilhelm Tell
William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Alb ...
'' (the title character is Ober of Acorns). The play was written in 1804, its first Hungarian performance was in 1827 at
Kolozsvár (Austrian: Klausenburg) and the first decks were made by József Schneider of
Pest around 1835.
Tell pattern type 1
at the International Playing-Card Society The International Playing-Card Society (IPCS) is a non-profit organisation for those interested in playing cards, their design, and their history. While many of its members are collectors of playing cards, they also include historians of playing car ...
. Retrieved 9 October 2016. Schneider cut out sheets of 36 cards, applied the red, scarlet, blue, and brown colours to them using a template. He then painted the face, hands, and small ornaments of clothes by hand.
The characters from the drama were chosen to avoid censorship at the time of the Hungarian opposition to Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
rule. The story, after all, was about a successful revolt against the Habsburgs.
After the Hungarian War of Independence
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...
in 1848-49, the Austrian government confiscated the cards. Piatnik
Wiener Spielkartenfabrik Ferd. Piatnik & Söhne, commonly referred to as Piatnik, is an Austrian playing card and board game manufacturing company based in Vienna.
History
The company was founded in 1824 by the card manufacturer Anton Moser (178 ...
of Austria began producing this deck in 1865, they changed two of the characters. The Aces or Deuces depict the four seasons which are also somewhat different in the Austrian and Hungarian versions. The Slovak-Moravian version follows the Austrian version but does not label the characters or the seasons. The Kings represent no one in particular and are shown mounted on horses. Except for the Aces, all pip cards have Roman numerals. The suit symbols are also slightly different, most notably the leaves are now half yellow and end with three tips. They come in packs of 32, 33 (with the ''Weli''), or 36 cards. They are sometimes called "Swiss cards" due to the nationality of the characters but this pattern is not used in Switzerland. In Hungary and other eastern European countries they are called "Hungarian cards" and only come in 32-card packs.
Here are the differences between the current iterations of the Hungarian (first given) and Austrian versions:
Franco-German hybrid decks
An Austrian hybrid deck with the Tell pattern on top and the Vienna pattern on the bottom
After the unification and reunification of Germany
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, compromise decks were created to help players from around the country who were used to different suits. The Skat Congress decks split cards diagonally with one half using the pattern with French suits and the other half using the pattern with German suits. This is not unique to Germany as similar split decks are found in Austria, Switzerland and even France.
The Turnierbild pack was created for official Skat tournaments, using the French suited Berlin pattern
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...
but with German colours (green Spades and yellow Diamonds). The packs from Grimaud Junior also used this scheme.
Footnotes
References
Literature
* Benő, Zsoldos (1980). ''A játékkártya és története'' he Playing Card and its History Budapest: Gondolat.
* Braun, Franz (1966). ''Spielen und Kartenspiele'' ames and Card Games
Ames may refer to:
Places United States
* Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas
* Ames, Colorado
* Ames, Illinois
* Ames, Indiana
* Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name
* Ames, Kansas
* Ames, Nebraska
* Ames, New York
* Ames, Ok ...
Hanover: Schmidt-Küster.
* Dummett, Michael (1980). ''The Game of Tarot''. Duckworth, London.
* Hausler, Manfred (2010). ''Trommler und Pfeifer: Die Geschichte der Bayerischen Spielkarten.'' Munich: Volk.
* Suma, Wolfgang (1986). "The Oldest Pack of Leipzig Playing-Cards" in ''The Playing-Card'' Vol. 15, No. 1, August 1986, pp. 19–24. ISSN 0305-2133.
{{Playing card decks
Playing card suit systems
de:Spielkarte#Deutsches Blatt