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All Germany Bamberg Apfelweibla
AO Edited

Apfelweibla

This brass doorknob is a nod to a local literary figure.

Bamberg, Germany

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santidspadaro
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Apfelweibla   santidspadaro / Atlas Obscura User
Apfelweibla   santidspadaro / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Before rising to fame as the author of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, German writer and composer E.T.A. Hoffmann was a resident of the Bavarian town of Bamberg from 1808 to 1813. Today, you can find many traces of his time spent in the medieval city, perhaps none more fascinating than a doorknob shaped like the face of an old woman.

The whimsical doorknob belongs to the entrance of what used to be the house of Carl Friedrich Kunz, a friend of Hoffmann’s who later became his publisher. Hoffmann would reference this doorknob in his story The Golden Pot, in which a young, frightened student knocks over an old applemonger’s basket and flees after giving her all his money; later he sees the old woman’s face in a doorknob, which causes him to faint.

The doorknob here is actually a only a replica, with the original being preserved at Bamberg’s history museum.

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Literature Doors

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santidspadaro

Published

February 10, 2025

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  • https://bambergtravel.net/bamberg-apfelweibla-doorknob/
Apfelweibla
14 Eisgrube
Bamberg, 96049
Germany
49.888636, 10.885351
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Nearby Places

Bamberg Horseman

Bamberg, Germany

miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bamberg

Bamberg

Germany

Places 3

Nearby Places

Bamberg Horseman

Bamberg, Germany

miles away

Bird Hall of Bamberg Natural History Museum

Bamberg, Germany

miles away

The Gardener and Vintner Museum

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bamberg

Bamberg

Germany

Places 3

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