The Hinzelmann is a spirit of Germanic tradition.
The chatty kobold who demanded milk porridge every day.
The Hinzelmann, also Hintzelmann, is the kobold of Hudemühlen: at the castle in the Lüneburg Heath, his haunting began in 1584. He remained mostly invisible, but spoke with a clear voice, helped around the household and demanded a bowl of sweet milk porridge every day.
He is one of the best-documented German kobolds: the source rests on the diary of the pastor Marquart Feldmann from the years 1584 to 1589, and was printed in 1704 under the title Der vielförmige Hintzelmann. As a speaking house spirit, he has no real counterpart in German tradition.
Type: Kobold and speaking house spirit of a castle
Origin: Hudemühlen Castle, Lüneburg Heath
Texts: Feldmann report, first printed 1704, Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie
Period: haunting from 1584, first printed 1704
Appearance: mostly invisible, clearly audible, multiform
The haunting begins in 1584; the report, based on Pastor Feldmann’s diary for the years 1584 to 1589, appeared in print in 1704.
Hudemühlen Castle in the Lüneburg Heath; through the 1704 printing and Jacob Grimm, the figure became known far beyond Lower Saxony.
Very good: the Feldmann report of 1704 as an exceptionally detailed source, along with Jacob Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie and the Deutsche Sagen.
German: Hinzelmann is a diminutive form of Hinz or Heinz, Heinrich, with -el-mann. The name is related to the Heinzelmännchen, but denotes a distinct figure.
Appearance
The Hinzelmann is mostly invisible but clearly audible; he spoke with a clear voice, sang and joked. Explicitly multiform, he is said to have appeared as a white feather, a marten or a snake; occasionally a small, childlike shape is mentioned.
Effect
He helped with the household in the kitchen and stable and with tidying, warned and chatted with residents and guests. Basically friendly, he could become resentful and mischievous when distrusted or offended. As payment he demanded a bowl of sweet milk porridge every day at a fixed spot.
The key aspects of the kobold of Hudemühlen at a glance.
An early modern castle kobold of the Lüneburg Heath, documented in a pastor’s diary and printed in 1704.
Residents and guests of Hudemühlen Castle, with whom he talked, joked and to whom he lent a hand in the household.
Mostly invisible and only audible; shown as a white feather, a marten or a snake, occasionally described as a small, childlike figure.
Help in the kitchen, stable and with tidying, plus warnings and chatter; when offended, pranks and unrest, but no lethal violence.
The daily bowl of sweet milk porridge at a fixed spot; attempts at expulsion and banishment fail, he leaves of his own accord around 1588.
Hinzelmann is a diminutive form of Hinz or Heinz, Heinrich, with -el-mann, related in name to the Heinzelmännchen, but a distinct figure. The exceptionally detailed source is a report based on the diary of the pastor Marquart Feldmann from the years 1584 to 1589, printed in 1704 under the title Der vielförmige Hintzelmann.
Jacob Grimm discusses the kobold in his Deutsche Mythologie, thereby canonising a subject that had begun as an early modern eyewitness account. In this way, the household ghost of a heathland castle became one of the best-attested figures of German kobold belief.
The Hinzelmann is one of the best-documented German kobolds; the 1704 text is a key work of early modern poltergeist literature and was canonised through Grimm.
In religious studies terms, the Hinzelmann is predominantly benign; offence brings pranks and unrest, not lethal violence as with Hödekin. Important clarifications: he is not identical to the Cologne Heinzelmännchen, despite the similarity of name; and the source is Feldmann’s early modern first-hand and diary report, not merely a Grimm legend.
The central rite is the regular offering of food, the milk porridge, at a fixed place, a genuine relationship of giving and taking. Attempts to drive out or banish the kobold fail in the narrative; he ultimately leaves of his own accord around 1588. What is attested, then, is less a protective charm against him than a practice of appeasement and provision.
Who is the Hinzelmann?
The kobold of Hudemühlen Castle, with a haunting that began in 1584: mostly invisible, but speaking, helpful and well documented.
What did he demand as payment?
A bowl of sweet milk porridge every day at a fixed spot.
Is he the same as the Heinzelmännchen?
No. Despite the similarity of name, he is a distinct figure from Hudemühlen.
Recommended internal links:
Further standard works in the bibliography.
As both the household spirit of Hudemühlen and a talking house spirit, Hinzelmann shows how closely everyday life and the spirit world intertwined in the early modern period: a household companion who was heard, provided for, and never fully seen.
Against its influence, cross-cultural tradition names these protective means:
Compare in the Protection Compass →Recommended protective means
The simplest protective means in this collection: 41 layers of fine gold 999, platinum, silver and silicon, manufactured in Ruhla, Thuringia. It requires no activation, is bound to no person, and is effective within a radius of around 50 meters, even without being worn.
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