Why Bienenstich Is Called Bienenstich, maybe

September 6, 2020 Anika Rieper

Yesterday while I was cutting the grass I became the victim of a vicious attack: a bee stung me. It hurt like crazy and it still hurts a day later. Luckily, I am not that allergic. And lucky for you I had to think of the German cake called Bienenstich which quite literally means bee sting.

There are many different recipes and variations of Bienenstich but most commonly it is a Blechkuchen (sheet cake) made with Hefeteig (yeast dough) and a vanilla cream or whipped cream filling topped with a mix of sugar, butter, and almonds.

German bee sting cake, © Mufi69 - Selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5330099 — © Mufi69 – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5330099

© Anika Rieper (2019), German bee sting cake with vanilla pudding, baked in a springform — This ***Bienenstich*** was made by my aunt Monika with vanilla pudding and in a springform.

Die Bäckerjungensage

But why would a delicious cake like this be called a bee sting? It is unclear, however the legend or story is a fun one, called the Bäckerjungensage (baker boys legend). We come across it in Karl Simock’s “Rhein-Sagen” of 1891. In 1474, the emperor took the rights to collect tolls from the ships going down the Rhine river away from the city of Linz and gave it to Andernach on the other side of the river. The people of Linz am Rhein were understandably upset, the tolls being a major source of their income and so they planned to attack their neighboring town Andernach in the early hours of the morning. The people of Andernach had the reputation of partying well into the night and therefore sleeping late. Unfortunately for the Linzers, two baker boys took a stroll on city wall after they were done baking. They went there because they wanted to eat some honey from the beehives put up by the night watch men. Or maybe they wanted to bring the night guards Brötchen (rolls). Either way they heard the Linzer coming and thinking quick on their feet they took the beehives and threw them at the enemies. The city guard was alarmed by ringing the bell and the Linzers being stung by the bees fled. The baker boys were celebrated and the cake they requested was called Bienenstich. It is interesting to note that the original story does not include the cake.

The two baker boys, Fränzje and Döres, on top of the fountain. You can see the relief of the pretzel as the sign for bakers and the beehives.
© Lothar Spurzem - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81725649 — The two baker boys, Fränzje and Döres, on top of the fountain. You can see the relief of the pretzel as the sign for bakers and the beehives.
© Lothar Spurzem – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81725649

Karl Simock, "Rhein-Sagen", 1891. — Karl Simock, “Rhein-Sagen”, 1891.
While normally bakers wake up early to bake bread, the bakers in Andernach take a nap after the baking. It is baker boys who are foreign or from a different town or region (fremde Bäckersjungen) who are up early and save the day.

The photos below show the Kornpforte Rheintor in Andernach from which the baker boys threw the beehives onto the attacking Linzers. Walking through the gate you can see two tuff figures that are called the Bäckerjungen and are said to protect the city. In a different legend that in 1816 Friedrich Wilhelm Carové sent to the brothers Grimm those two figures are beer brewers who defended the city against the Swedes in 1633 (during the Thirty Year War) by dumping boiling water on them from the top of the Kornpforte Rheintor, the city gate. This event may have happened this way or similarly. The figures though are quite obviously neither baker boys nor brewers but soldiers protecting the city. They were probably made when the gate was built in the 13th century. However, they are referred to as the Baker Boys (see plaque below).

Kornpforte Rheintor in Andernach
© Frank Vincentz - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36380827 — Kornpforte Rheintor in Andernach
© Frank Vincentz – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36380827

When you walk through the Kornpforte Rheintor you encounter these two figures.
© Frank Vincentz - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36381082 — When you walk through the Kornpforte Rheintor you encounter these two figures.
© Frank Vincentz – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36381082

© Frank Vincentz - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36381073 — © Frank Vincentz – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36381073

Historical Background

However, like every legend this one also contains kernels of truth. In 1365, Andernach had the toll rights for ships on the Rhine and those rights were given to Linz am Rhein by the archbishop of Cologne Engelbert III because of the conflict between the bishop and the town. Andernach attacked and destroyed the bishop’s castle and in 1367 the bishop seized the city of Andernach. About 100 years later the rights were returned to Andernach by the emperor Friedrich III for their sacrifice (150 people were killed) in the fight against Linz which had sided with Karl I dem Kühnen, Duke of Burgundy during the Burgundian Wars (1474-1477). The third historical part is the attack of Andernach in 1591 by colonel Olivier van der Tempel. The Rheintor was partially destroyed during this attack.

The Legend of the Baker Boys Today

The Bäckerjungensage doesn’t only live in the fountain with the statue in the city of Andernach but also in poems, prose texts, and songs. Here is a video of the legend written by Karl Simrock and a song of the same story composed by Harald Ax.

Do you know any legends around a favorite food? Do you have a good fail-proof recipe for Bienenstich? If so, please share!