German-suited playing cards


German-suited playing cards are a very common style of traditional playing card used in many parts of Central Europe characterised by 32- or 36-card packs with the suits of Acorns, Leaves, Hearts and Bells. The German suit system is one of the oldest, becoming standard around 1450 and, a few decades later, influencing the design of the now international French suit system of Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds. Today German-suited playing cards are common in south and east Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein, north Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, northern Serbia, southern Poland and central and western Romania and Siebenbürgen.

History

Playing cards originally entered German-speaking lands around the late 1370s. The earliest cards were probably Latin-suited like those used in Italy and Spain. After much experimentation, the cards settled into the four aforementioned suits around 1450. Closely related Swiss playing cards are used in German-speaking Switzerland. The French suit symbols, well known internationally and especially in English-speaking countries, were derived from the German ones around 1480.
German-suited packs originally had four court cards per suit, but the Queen was dropped in the early 16th century. The ten was often depicted with a banner and known as the Banner or Panier; this survives in Swiss-suited cards, but died out in Germany in the mid-16th century, although it continued to be called by the name Panier until at least 1783. The Aces had been dropped even earlier, probably by the 1470s, leaving the standard German pack with 48 cards; the Deuce being promoted into the gap left by the Ace. During the 18th century, the 48-card pack was further reduced to 36, although there is evidence of 48-card, so-called 'Karniffel' packs being sold until the first half of the 19th century in places.
German-suited cards spread throughout Europe into areas that were either part of the Holy Roman Empire or Kingdom of Hungary.
This area is now distributed in modern states of Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, south east of Germany, Hungary, northern Italy, southern Poland, western Romania, northern Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, and southwestern Ukraine, bordering Hungary.
They were also produced and used as far east as Russia until the early 20th century. German-suited decks are still well known all over these countries although they have been undergoing strong competition from French playing cards since the late 17th century.
Until the Thirty Years' War, German-suited cards were used in all German-speaking regions of Europe. However, the war saw French-suited cards being introduced through the movement of soldiers and they eventually ousted the German cards across large parts of the German nation. North of the River Main only the Prussian-Silesian pattern, common in Prussia, was able to hold on. After its annexation by Prussia in the 18th century, Silesia began to use the Prussian pattern cards instead of the hitherto dominant Austrian pattern. Today, the most common pattern of cards used in much of Germany are the French-suited, Berlin pattern, although German-suited cards are also widely used in some regions.
Traditional card games in which German suits are used include Binokel, Doppelkopf, Gaigel, Schafkopf, Skat, Bavarian Tarock and Watten.

Composition

Suits Herzen
Hearts
Image:Bay herz.svg|35x35px|center		Schellen
Bells
Image:Bay schellen.svg|35x35px|center		Eicheln
Acorns
Image:Bay eichel.svg|35x35px|center		Blätter
Leaves
Image:Bay gras.svg|35x35px|center
Suits

German suited decks tend to have fewer cards than either the French, Spanish, or Italian sets. The typical northern German pack has 32 cards ranking from 7, 8, 9, 10, Under Knave, Over Knave, King, and "Ace" for a total of 32 cards. The "Ace" is really a Deuce as indicated by its two suit symbols. Today, however, it is rarely if ever called a Daus. Southern patterns have 36 cards by including the 6. In South Tyrol, 40-card, German-suited packs are still produced so that Italian games can be played with them. In 2019, ASS Altenburger produced a double 52-card, German-suited pack for the game of Rommé. However, uniquely, it had Queens and Jacks instead of Obers and Unters.
In Bavaria, Austria and South Tyrol, the 6 of Bells is known as the Weli or Belle which is often used as a wild card. The Weli first appeared around 1855 in the discontinued Tyrolean pattern and later the Salzburg and Tell patterns. The 7 of Bells is sometimes known as the Belli and the 7 of Acorns as the Spitz or Soacher and they are of comparable use, with the Weli being the higher card. For instance, in the Bavarian Watten game the top three cards following the respective trump ace are – in descending order: Maxi, Belli and Spitz. With the exception of the New Altenburg pattern, all cards with the rank of 10 include the Roman numeral X at the top centre of the card.
The Ace in German and Swiss German sets have a peculiar history. Aces disappeared from German decks during the 15th century. When the Ace was promoted above the King in French packs during the 16th century, the Deuce did so as well in Germany leading to the conflation of the Ace and Deuce. This is why in most packs the Ace depicts two pips and is also called a Daus. Confusion is avoided when the 7 or 6 became the lowest card in most packs during the 17th and 18th centuries. Players also avoid confusion by alternatively calling the Ace/Deuce a Sau.

Patterns

Many regions have their own pattern which features their own unique artwork or number of cards. Some patterns are descended from much earlier ones like the Saxon pattern which can trace their ancestry to the 15th-century Stukeley type cards named after their identifier, William Stukeley, in 1763.

Northern

Northern patterns include the Saxon pattern, in old, new and double-figured variants, the Lower Saxon pattern and the two types of Prussian, or Prussian-Silesian, pattern. Most were originally produced with 36 cards but this was reduced to 32 cards after the spread of Skat. In northern patterns, the acorns are red.

Saxon pattern

The only traditional northern pattern still in regular production in Germany is the Saxon pattern where only pip cards have corner indices. However, Saxon pattern cards of various designs have been produced for over 500 years for the German-speaking region bounded roughly by the Elbe and Saale rivers and by the Ore Mountains to the south. This region is represented by the modern German states of Saxony and Thuringia, the latter historically falling under Saxon rule. Historically they were called Schwerterkarte, "sword cards", referring to the two or three swords displayed on some of the cards, a symbol of the electoral status of the dukes of Saxony.
The modern double-ended Saxon pattern is the product of a long evolution from the primitive Stukeley type cards imported from Nuremberg. Wolfgang Suma identified four stages of development:
  • Nuremberg pattern, Stukeley type, imported in the late 15th century. Later called Ruimpf cards after the game.
  • Cavalier cards, developed in the first half of the 18th century probably in Leipzig
  • Schwerterkarte, first appeared 1800, became double-ended in late 19th century.
  • East German pattern, designed 1963–1964.
    Ruimpf cards
In Saxony and Thuringia there was also a pack known as Ruimpf cards that was produced from the 16th to the 18th century, before being replaced by the Saxon pattern. Ruimpf or Ruempf was the name of a game for which the precise rules are unknown. Ruimpf cards are believed to have originated in south Germany and destined for export to the Ore Mountains. They were narrower than the almost square cards of the older Nuremberg pattern.
Schwerterkarte
The older variant of the Saxon single-headed pattern originated in Leipzig and Dresden in the early 19th century, being typified by the Schwerterkarte, named after the crossed swords on the coat of arms of the Deuces of Acorns. Replicas of this early type are still made, for example the 1835 example produced by Altenburger. A newer, more elaborate, variant emerged in the early 19th century. Both designs feature a great lion on the Acorn Deuce, lovers being surprised on the Deuce of Bells and the Unter of Bells holding a tame bird. The pip cards feature a range of ornamental scenes from animals, legendary and real, to biblical scenes. The latter fell away in the double-headed versions that came into vogue at the end of the 19th century and are still in production today.
East German pattern
These older northern patterns have been eclipsed by the double-headed New Altenburg, New German or East German pattern, created by Walter Krauss in the former East Germany, which added corner indices to every card but the Aces and cleverly changed the dimensions of the cards to match those of standard poker or rummy cards. In 2018, ASS Altenburger launched the first 52-card, German-suited pack to be manufactured for several centuries as part of a Rommé set comprising 2 packs of 52 cards plus 2 jokers each. This limited edition of 1000 sets was sold out almost immediately and so, in 2019, ASS published a revised set taking account of customer feedback. Despite being German-suited, the cards featured Queens and Jacks instead of Obers and Unters. In addition, there are Twos as well as Deuces. The Queens had also been designed by Krauss originally, but they were unpopular, and such version with Queens instead of Obers is otherwise no longer in print.