The Stoessel lute (german: Stössel-Laute) is a string instrument invented by Georg Stössel in 1914 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

(Köln),

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Its steel strings are fingered not by putting one's hand round the neck, but over the end of it. To this end, most Stössel lutes have very short necks. It is, in effect, a hybrid between a necked string instrument and a zither. The instrument was very popular in Germany and elsewhere in the early 20th century; it was frequently used in German and Austrian schools in the inter-war period. The Second World War put an end to production and the instrument never regained its former popularity.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''The Stössel-lute''
Greg Miner, Miner Music

at ATLAS of Plucked Instruments

at SpringerMusic.co.uk String instruments German musical instruments Fretted zithers 1914 musical instruments