Weißwurstäquator

The various definitions of the Weißwurstäquator: 1) The Speyer line (green), 2) the river Main line as the frontier of Prussian hegemony before 1871 (red), 3) the 49° latitude (black).

Weißwürste mit Brezeln und süßen Senf (white sausages with Pretzels and sweet mustard)

The  Weißwurstäquator (Austro-Bavarian: Weißwuascht-Äquator; literally: white sausage equator) is a humorous term describing the supposed cultural boundary separating Southern Germany, especially Bavaria, from Central Germany.

It is named for the Weißwurst sausage of Bavaria. There is no precise definition of the Weißwurstäquator; it is sometimes taken to correspond with the linguistic boundary known as the the Speyer line separating Upper German from Central German dialects, roughly following the Main River. It is sometimes taken to run further south, more or less along the Danube, or between the Main and the Danube, roughly along the 49th parallel north circle of latitude.

See also

• culture of Bavaria
• Upper German
• Austro-Bavarian
• Röstigraben, the line dividing German and French speaking areas of Switzerland
• Brünig-Napf-Reuss line, a cultural boundary within German-speaking Switzerland

References

• Duden Deutsches Universalwörterbuch , 6th edition, ISBN 3-411-05506-5 (German)

External links

• Bavaria's Umlaut Umbrage article of the Deutsche Welle
• definition on Indigo Magazine, p.59
• Interview with Oktoberfest innkeeper Wiggerl Hagn at Deutschlandradio Kultur (German)