The Stachel Inn

The inn Zum Stachel is one of the oldest taverns in the city, known to locals simply as the Stachel, which means sting or barb. The building was originally called the Gressenhof, after the well-to-do Cresse family. The Gressenhof is first mentioned in a bill of sale dating from the early 15th century, when a Würzburg butcher bought the building. Just over a hundred years later, momentous events led to the inn being given the unusual name it has today. For in 1525 the Peasants’ War reached the city of Würzburg, as the peasants demanded greater personal freedom as well as reductions in taxes and tributes. The townspeople themselves were likewise constantly at loggerheads with their ruler, the prince-bishop. The people of Würzburg allied themselves with the peasants and opened the city-gates to let the insurgents in. It was in the Gressenhof that the leaders of the peasant troops set up headquarters, including the legendary Franconian knight Götz von Berlichingen. As a way of recognizing the house, a morning star – a typical peasant weapon – is said to have been hung from its outside wall, the weapon’s sharp spikes in turn suggesting the name Stachel. The inn has kept the name ever since...