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The replies from the Rheinpfalz concerning the “survey” of the Bayerischer Verein für Volkskunst und Volkskunde, 1908/09

From the Palatinate (from 1838 Rheinpfalz), partly belonging to Bavaria until the end of WWI and partly up to the end of WWII, 55 answers are preserved in the collection concerning the “survey”. Today, nine reports can be attributed to the Saarland and the remaining 46 to the Rhineland-Palatinate. At least seven letters were lost over the course of time.

Who replied?

Of 55 answers, 52 are identified by name. Except for the answer by one female teacher, all others were written by males. On four occasions, two people answered together; once even three delivered a joint answer. In fact, 58 people are known by name. More than 80% of them were local teachers, some of them primary or secondary school teachers; one was a high-school professor. Four answers come from mayors: except for one who was also a blacksmith, only their function in municipal administration is known and not their actual profession. Once, a Catholic priest was co-author; a baker answered as well. One teacher sent answers from three different places. About two thirds of the answers from Rheinpfalz are between one and nine pages long, a quarter consists of up to 19 pages, three contain up to 29 pages, one answer is 51 and another 61 pages long. Four reports concern two locations, while three reports refer to three locations.

Population structure of the villages

In c.1900, a quarter of the towns and villages had a population of less than 500, less than a third had up to 1,000 inhabitants, a fifth reached up to 1,500 and slightly more than a fifth counted a population of over 1,500 inhabitants; the statistics do not contain information on social stratification. Slightly less than half of all places were predominantly Protestant, just over half of them predominantly Catholic. All places were of mixed denomination. Inhabitants of Jewish faith were represented in 14 places. Additional religions are indicated as “other” for 16 places. The answers, however, hardly took into account diversity of faith or confession. An impression of the regional distribution is given by the map, which Torsten Gebhard presents in his essay “Bemerkungen zur volkskundlichen Umfrage” (Remarks on the Folkloristic Survey, Bayerisches Jahrbuch für Volkskunde 1986/87, p. 8).

Selected collectibles from the “survey” of 1908/09

>> This collection concerns the “survey” of the Bayerischer Verein für Volkskunst und Volkskunde (Bavarian Society for Folk Art and Folklore) from the collection of the Institut für Volkskunde (Ethnological Institute).