Marzipan Pigs in Germany's Old Town Lübeck

Way back in the Middle Ages, long before they even had radio, the prosperous northern German city of Lübeck was calling all the shots in the Hanseatic League. No, not like in the National League. Like in the Hanseatic League, okay? It was an alliance of trading cities which pretty much managed to maintain a trade monopoly over most of northern Europe and the Baltic Sea for hundreds of years.

Before the establishment of the Hanse (the guild), this region of the world was open to chaotic raiding and plundering and lawlessness (kind of like parts of Los Angeles today only with more trees). After the establishment of the Hanse, this raiding and plundering got a lot more organized and everyone here managed a rather elegant transition and moved right on into all-out warfare. This also went on for hundreds of years.

But that was then and this is now. I want to move on to the part about the marzipan pigs if you don't mind.

Marzipan did not originate in Lübeck - duh, there are no almond trees up here. But there is an abundance of legends claiming this to be so and should you ever come to town and hear one of these ridiculous tall tales just nod your head politely and nobody gets hurt, alright?

Marci panis or Marcus bread most likely originated in Venice. It soon made its way up here not long afterwards, however, and whether it originated here or not is of little or no consequence, really. All that you need to remember is that the experts in Lübeck really know how to make this stuff.

The fist mention of marzipan here was back in 1598. Almonds, the basic raw material for marzipan, are even thought to have been imported to Lübeck as early as the 13th century. So either way they have obviously had a lot of time to practice.