There’s even a novel that rewrites the dish’s history, Die Entdeckund der Currywurst (The Discovery of Currywurst) by Uwe Timm. A plaque sits today where her imbiss once rolled out hot meals to the hungry on the corner of Kant Strasse and Kaiser-Friedrich Strasse. Most have become acquainted with the ubiquitous grub, whether it be as a tourist treat or a late-night necessity, but its history is simple yet complex, mirroring the dish itself. As we wolf down as estimated 800 million Currywurst each year, prospective Berlin mayors jostle for position to be photographed with one of the sauce-drenched saussies at their local stand. The most popular story holds that this unique blend of seasoning comes from a Trümmerfrauen (rubble woman) in 1949 in Berlin. The Deutsches Currywurst Museum estimates that 800 million currywursts are eaten every year in Germany, with 70 million in Berlin alone. [2] She mixed these ingredients with other spices and poured it over grilled pork sausage. Currywurst: A short history of Germany's most iconic sausage Herta Heuwer: Inventor of the Currywurst. As is the case with most invention stories, however, the origin of the Currywurst is disputed. her secret recipe, so the “true” Currywurst died with her in 1999. A Little Currywurst History As the story goes, Herta Heuwer owned an Imbiss (small take away place) on the corner of Kant & Kaiser-Friedrich Straße. She patented her sauce under the name "Chillup" i… In Uwe Timm’s novel “The Invention of Curried Sausage”, a woman called Lena Brücker perfects her Currywurst sauce two years before the idea even popped into Herta Heuwer’s head. As any German worth their salt probably knows, the legend of the Currywurst... Currywurst’s disputed origins. Today, currywurst is often sold as a take-out/take-away food, Schnellimbisse (snack stands), at diners or "greasy spoons," on children's menus in restaurants, or as a street food and usually served with french fries or bread rolls (Brötchen).

Although plenty of other vendors tried to copy her, they never got their hands on her original Currywurst recipe. One study even found that 80 percent of Germans consider Currywurst a central part of their diet. Considerable variation, both in the type of sausage used and the ingredients of the sauce, occurs between these areas. Within a few years, she had opened a permanent snack bar on Kantstraße, which remained open well into the 1970s. | DW | 03.09.2017", "10 Things We Learned at Berlin's Museum Dedicated to Currywurst", "VW verkauft mehr Würste als Autos (VW sells more sausages than cars)", "Die Currywurst – das Originalteil wird 45! Currywurst is believed to have been invented by Herta Heuwer in West Berlin in 1949. [4] She later opened a small restaurant which operated until 1974. The disputes don’t end there.
But they will surely all hit the same big snag: Heuwer patented her Currywurst sauce under the name “Chillup” back in 1959. [17] The museum receives approximately 350,000 visitors annually. Currywurst has become so popular in Germany that there is an entire museum dedicated to it in Berlin.


To make things clear, once and for all, the area has plans for its own Currywurst museum and a motorway sign reading: “Ruhrgebiet: Heimat der Currywurst”. This year it even received its own commemorative coin. The silver alloy coin features two currywursts pierced with a wooden chip fork and poured with the sauce (coloured by print), and Herta Heuwer in the background (caption: 70 Jahre Currywurst). It is popular all over Germany but especially in the metropolitan areas of Berlin, Hamburg and the Ruhr Area. Currywurst is the most popular street food in Berlin, and this a universally accepted fact; at the very most, one can slightly vary in the choice of the type of sausage or the condiment. As the years pass and the Currywurst remains firmly lodged in the hearts of Germans, no doubt we’ll see a never-ending stream of these rival claims. And that’s a pretty strong piece of evidence that Hamburg and the Ruhr both lack. It might be time to rethink the symbol of Berlin. And this dish is often served with French fries. Herta, like much of Germany, didn’t let devastation color her future. [9][10][11] The Volkswagen plant at Wolfsburg runs its own butchery producing about 7 million Volkswagen currywursts per year, serving many directly to Volkswagen employees.

[5] On 30 June 2013 Heuwer's 100th birthday was celebrated with a Google Doodle.[6]. Even Google agrees that the Currywurst is a true Berlin speciality: Herta Heuwer’s 100th birthday was celebrated by the search engine with a Doodle of the iconic saucy sausage in its typical, fluted cardboard tray.