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3 unusual facts about Stock im Eisen


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Craftsmen in German-speaking countries have driven nails into certain wooden shapes for luck for centuries, as in the case of the Stock im Eisen in Vienna.

Stock im Eisen

The legends of the Devil and the Stock im Eisen are the subject of an 1880 ballet by Pasquale Borri, to music by Franz Doppler.

In the 18th century, a custom developed that travelling smiths and apprentices would hammer a nail into the tree trunk; in particular, from 1715 on, travelling journeyman locksmiths.



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