St. Salvator


Useful Information

Location:  
()
Open: All year daily. [2007]
Fee: free.
[2007]
Classification: SubterraneaCave Church
Light: LightElectric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
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Address: i-Punkt, Marktplatz 37/1, 73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd, Tel: +49-7171-60342-50. E-mail: contact
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History


Description

248. The Näberle on St. Salvator.

Oral tradition.

On the Salvator near Gmünd is the Way of the Cross. At the station "The Crucifixion of Christ", there is a figure at the bottom of the cross who is busy drilling. The figure is known among the people simply as "Näberle". When children go up there, each of them must spit on him, and it would be considered a sin if they did not do so. The following joke is also told: Näberle was once stolen and placed with his drill under a tree near Gmünd. A hunter, considering him dangerous, called out to him repeatedly, and when he did not answer, Näberle was shot in the neck. Soon he was brought back up to the Salvator and his wound was nailed shut, which can still be seen today[1].

1. ? Näberle, i.e. the driller; in some areas of Swabia, the drill is still called a "Näpper"; in Middle High German, naben, genaben = to drill. Cf. Müller-Zarncke II. 282. In Wurmlingen and the surrounding area, "Näpere" refers to the boring movement of the fingers caused by boredom: »was näprist älleweil am Duech ’rum?« ("What are you doing with your fingers all the time?")


The Näberle on St. Salvator, from:
Anton Birlinger, Michael Buck (1861): Legends, Fairy Tales and Superstitions (Folklore from Swabia 1). Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder’sche Verlagshandlung, 1861, pp. 160-161.