Münchner Kindl, meaning "Munich child" in the
Bavarian dialect
Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian.
Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million peop ...
, is the name of the symbol on the
coat of arms of the city of
Munich.
History
This symbol has been the coat-of-arms of Munich since the 13th century. The figure portrayed was originally a
monk (or
friar) holding a Bible, but by the 16th century it evolved in different portrayals into the figure of a small
child
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
wearing a pointed hood, often shown holding a
beer mug and a
radish. It has been theorized that the name for the city of Munich (''München'' in German) comes from the term or "Cloister for Monks" due to the
Imperial Abbey of Tegernsee--a
Benedictine Monastery near which the original town of Munich was built.
The image in its different configurations has appeared on countless different objects, from atop the city hall in Munich to
manhole covers and even
beer steins. The
gender of the figure has also changed over the years: from a clearly
male, to a
gender-neutral child, to a small
girl. Nowadays when the kindl is portrayed by a person - for instance, as a
mascot for
Oktoberfest - it is usually enacted by a young woman.
See also
*
Coat of arms of Munich
The coat of arms of Munich ''(Münchner Wappen)'' depicts a young monk dressed in black holding a red book. It has existed in a similar form since the 13th century, though at certain points in its history it has not depicted the central figure of ...
External links
City Museum - Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munchner Kindl
History of Munich
Culture in Munich
Heraldic charges