A boxing match is set to be held to decide which German state can claim the title of the country’s oldest bratwurst establishment.
Sofia Hilleprandt, the owner of one of the restaurants in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, confirmed recently that the contest – to be held on Sept 26 – will “settle the question once and for all”.
The tongue-in-cheek challenge has been accepted by the Bratwurst Museum in the neighbouring state of Thuringia, where the grilled sausage is considered a cultural asset.
“We are convinced of our cause, and we will prove that in the ring,” said museum director Thomas Mäuer.
The hotly contested dispute has re-emerged in recent months after researchers in Erfurt – the capital of Thuringia – found a document from 1269 proving the existence of a grilling hut on a local bridge.
The bombshell discovery, if confirmed, would challenge the claim of Hilleprandt’s restaurant, Zum Gulden Stern, which was first mentioned in 1419.
The restaurant advertises itself as the “oldest bratwurst kitchen in the world”.
Representing Nuremberg will be amateur boxer Hasan Arli, who weighs in at 92 kilograms.
Arli faces an uphill battle against Thuringia’s contestant Kay Löwentraut, the “Thuringian boy who grew up on bratwurst”, clocking in at more than 120kg.
It is unclear whether the Wurstkuchl restaurant in the Bavarian city of Regensburg – a rival contestant to the title that traces its origins back to 1378 – will also provide a challenger. – dpa
