Holfert's "Votives" Munich

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Viola from Munich

I'm a brand designer & strategist. Munich is home to the biggest inner-city park...

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Admittedly, this is a weird one. I had passed this shop many times always wondering who would buy those strange silver plates with motives such as body parts or animals displayed in the shop window. So one day I went inside and asked the lady what they were. She had to repeat the word “votives” about three times as I always understood “motives”. My bewildered face made her laugh and she explained to me that these plates were so called votive offerings.

Apparently votives had their peak time in the mid 18th century and then again in the Period of Promoterism in the late 19th century. So if people had a broken foot or back pain, if they were trying for a baby or if a farm animal was ill they would buy the appropriate plate and take it to a pilgrimage church. After the recovery they might buy another one with the letters G.R. being Latin for “thanks that I was given”.

The shop is located in the city centre close to the Sendlinger Tor. They also sell antiques and other things, such as cutlery from the period of Promoterism / Wilhelminian style. If you keep going towards the Karlsplatz Stachus there are a lot of nice little shops very different from the shops in the main shopping street.

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Viola from Munich

Viola Reise photo

I'm a brand designer & strategist. Munich is home to the biggest inner-city park...

Read all articles

Details about this spot

Categories

Address

Kreuzstrasse 9, Munich

Telephone number

+4989263115

Opening Times

Mon - Fri 11:00 - 18:30, Sat 11:00 - 16:00
Last Changed Date: 2016-05-19 11:45:13 +0200 (Thu, 19 May 2016)