HEIDELBERG’S
STUDENT KISS
Romantic Souvenir Treat of Old Heidelberg at the Café Knösel
Heidelberg
has a reputation as Germany’s most romantic old city.
Part of this has to do with the writers of the romantic literary age who
wrote of it on the grand tour, some who attended its university. Part of
the romantic reputation can be laid at the door of a small café near
the Heiliggeist Church and the sweet chocolate treat, the Student Kiss.
In Heidelberg today you encounter vibrant young woman attending the university,
but in the 19th Century, of course, the university was all male, primarily
upper crust sons of nobility and the rising industrialist class (see Heidelberg
Student Prison). Young women of similar class attended finishing schools
in the city and in the proper society of the time, rarely were allowed
to
mingle
without the watchful eye of chaperones.
Student Kiss History
Fridolin
Knösel, a charming and witty baker and master confectioner
opened his Café Knösel on Haspelgasse street in 1863, a rather
novel idea spreading through Europe based on the cafes of Vienna (see Vienna’s
Traditional Cafes), and quickly became a hit among the city’s
university lecturers and students. Young ladies of Heidelberg were particularly
partial
to the sweet chocolate delights of his sweet shop. The male students of
the university certainly flocked to the shop, hoping to steal a glance
or notice from the girls, during the averted attention of the governesses.
A master marketer as well as a chocolate maker, Knösel clasped on
the idea of a delicious little delight of praline nougat
on a waffle wafer covered in dark chocolate, which could be offered as
a present, which he named the Student Kiss . A gallant and elegant idea
which quickly
caught on as a way to exchange a token of affection to which the chaperones
couldn’t
object and which could pass muster in the proper social order.
Student Kiss Chocolate Shop
The
custom of the Student Kiss (Studenten Kuss) of Heidelberg has continued
for a century and a half, with the descendants of the Fridolin Knösel
continuing the family tradition of the romantic symbol of chocolate in
its distinctive
package of red with 19th Century student silhouettes, still made by hand
from the original 1863 recipe. This charming Heidelberg specialty souvenir
as drawn the hearts of locals and visitors alike for generations. The noted
and famous from Mark Twain (see Mark
Twain Heidelberg Mystery) to world
leaders Bill Clinton and Angela Merkel, even Michelle Obama on a recent
trip have made it a point to stop in for a kiss at the little shop on Haspelgasse.
You'll also find Student Kiss coffee cups and a selction of other chocolates.
A single Student Kiss with a message insert in your choice of languages
is
about €3,
a box of 3 is about €7.
Take home a kiss to give to a sweetheart who didn’t make the trip
to Germany, but make sure to have an extra, because it’s easy to
end up with just a wrapper left over from temptation.
Café Knösel
The
Café Knösel Konditerei, the oldest café in Heidelberg,
is separate from the chocolate shop next door on the corner, and you can
still sit down for a homemade cake or warm food in the historic wood décor.
The Café Knösel is also a hotel with 6 rooms above. Just a
door or two away from the Knösel Chocolate sweet shop is the
Schnookeloch Restaurant where students carved their initials in the tables,
still there
today. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Studenten Kuss
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See Also:
NECKAR RIVER CRUISES - HEIDELBERG
PHILOSOPHERS WALK - A POETS VIEW
GERMAN PHARMACY MUSEUM – HEIDELBERG CASTLE
GIANT WINE BARREL OF HEIDELBERG
RED OX INN – HISTORIC STUDENT HANGOUT
