Holfert's "Votives" Munich
Dec 19, 2024

Holfert's "Votives" Munich

What goes around comes around

""Holfert's "Votives"" in Munich is a shop where you can sort of buy a silver prayer for a baby or a farm animal. Sort of - this is difficult to explain!"

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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Art & culture
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Shopping

About this spot

Kreuzstrasse 9

no-price

89263115

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