Pöllauer Hirschbirne

 
  
Record number: 21
 
 
 
Disclosure date 
Circumstantial evidence suggests that the ‘Hirschbirne’ pear had developed as a chance seedling by 1860 at the latest, and presumably even earlier, by around 1800.
The oldest trees still found in the region date from a planting after 1870. The presence of the Hirschbirne in the market district of Pöllau is first mentioned in writing by F. Eigel in 1893 in a description of the town.
  

Photo: BMLFUW/A...

Title
Pöllauer Hirschbirne
(Pöllau pear) 
 
 
 
 
 
Abstract or claim 
Traditional cultivation of the Hirschbirne variety in extensive meadow orchards in the area around the Pöllau Valley in Styria. Hirschbirne is a Styrian seedling, and distinguished by a typical aroma and flavour which emerges most strongly when the fruit is in an overripe condition.
 
Hirschbirne achieves its deliciously distinct flavour thanks to the mild climate and special soil and climate conditions in the region.
Hirschbirne is a universally usable variety of the fruit, andtraditionally processed into brandies, cider, juice and dried fruit (‘dried pear’ or ‘Kletzen’ in Austrian German).
  
Name of product, product class
Pears, pome fruits, fruits 
 
Name of  region
Pöllau Valley, district of Hartberg, Eastern Styria, Styria, Austria 
 
Field of search
Food and Agriculture
 
Name(s) of information provider 
---
  
Names of applicant for title
----
 
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
Farmers, agricultural advisor centres, industry 
  
Grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
----
 
Descriptors
- History:
It is not known precisely where or when the Hirschbirne first emerged.
Some claim the Hirschbirne arrived in Pöllau with Napoleon‘s troops and the French at the beginning of the nineteenth century. To date, however, it has been impossible to prove that the Hirschbirne could be found in France, and this assumption has not been confirmed.
 
Evidence suggests that the Hirschbirne pear had developed as a chance seedling by 1860 at the latest, and presumably even earlier, by around 1800.
However, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the variety was already widespread before the nineteenth century, but that its variety classification was not initially resolved.
In its 1886 treatise on the cider fruit of Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Styria, ATTEMS cites Hirschbirne as an established (‘significant and widespread’) variety of Styrian cider pear; its entry, however, is immediately followed by the bracketed name ‘Wolfsbirne’ and a question mark, suggesting the two varieties may be synonymous.
 
According to investigations, the oldest trees still to be found in the region date back to a planting in 1870 or later.
 
In the pomological literature available, the variety appears for the first time in a standard range for Styria dating back to 1881.
 
By 1882, the Hirschbirne was already being presented as an ‘autumn cider pear’ at the Trieste Export Exhibition of that same year.
 
In 1888, the Hirschbirne was displayed by three Eastern Styrian producers at the Imperial Fruit Exhibition put on by the Austro-Hungarian Pomological Society, amongst what was called a ‘small collection of the best variety, most suitable for a particular case’.
 
In the standard range published in 1889, the Hirschbirne was already being displayed amongst cider pears, and certified ‘even for harsh locations’. The description ‘autumn cider pear’ is given there as a synonym. At that time, the pear would have been used not so much for producing dried fruit as for cider.
 
In 1893, in his ‘Ortsbeschreibung der Marktgemeinde Pöllau sammt der nächsten Umgebung’ (‘Town Description of the Market District of Pöllau and Surrounding Area‘), Pöllau chronicler EIGEL describes agriculture and fruit growing in the region and mentions that, of all the pears, the Hirschbirne is particularly strongly represented in the region around the market town. This represents a very healthy source of revenue for the landowners.
The oldest existing colour depiction of the Hirschbirne comes from LÖSCHNIG, and dates back to 1913. The oldest precise portrayal is the description of the Hirschbirne by GRÖSSBAUER in 1912/1913.
 
GRÖSSBAUER points out in 1913, that the Hirschbirne has occupied‘the mountainous part of Eastern Styria, from the Schöckel to the Wechsel, for centuries…’.
 
Due to its diverse landscape and traditional cultivation, the province of Styria awarded the Pöllau Valley (‘Pöllauer Tal’) area the title of ‘Nature Park’ in 1983.
 
Around 1994, the first efforts were made by farmers and small companies to retain the Hirschbirne and to target its marketing more forcefully.
 
In 2009 a survey was published looking at the ‘Scientific Basis for the Application of a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for the Pöllauer Hirschbirne and the Basis for a National Knowhow Transfer in the Field of Protection of Origin’.
 
History of utilisation:
By the mid-nineteenth century, the Hirschbirne was just one of numerous varieties of pear already being used in cider preparation in Eastern Styria. 
 
In 1903, the Hirschbirne is cited as the ‘most widespread variety of cider pear in Styria’, and the 1904 Fruit Land Register (‘Obstgrundbuch’) in Styria recommends the Hirschbirne as a cider pear for the province’s upper and central regions.
 
The Hirschbirne also has a long tradition in the dried fruit industry. From the mid-nineteenth century, producing dried fruits using the Hirschbirne made up an important branch of agriculture in the Pöllau Valley. The dried fruits were produced using small drying kilns – something which required a great deal of experience to do right – and then sold, first and foremost at Viennese markets.
The first evidence that Hirschbirne was being used for fresh consumption and exported as a fresh fruit as well as in cider and dried fruit production dates back to the Town Description of the Market District of Pöllau and Surrounding Area of 1893.
 
The distillation of the Hirschbirne into high-class brandies is another tradition dating back centuries in the region, and one that has always been associated with the Maria-Theresa Licensed Distillery Law. While Hirschbirne are distilled unmixed nowadays, they used to be mixed with other varieties of fruit.
 
- Region:
The main cultivation area of Pöllauer Hirschbirne pears can be found in the Pöllau Valley Nature Park area.
The Pöllau Valley is a hilly, basin landscape in Eastern Styria.
Covering an area of some 124 km² , the Nature Park extends across altitudes ranging from 345 metres (the valley bottom of the Saifen-Boden area) to 1,280 metres above sea level (the Rabenwald woods).
The Rabenwald and Buchkogel elevation (911metres) rise up in the south-west of the Pöllau Valley, while the Gschaider Kogel and Zeiseleck extend directly to the west (1,078 metres). The Masenbergzug, and its highest elevation, the Grätzer Kogel (1,272 metres), extends in an easterly direction, forming the north-eastern edge of the valley basin. The ridge turns to the south-east, and together with the Wiesberg, Hirschkogel and Annakogel mountains, encloses the Pöllau Valley.
 
The Hirschbirne flourishes in an area ranging between 350 and 1,000 metres above sea level. The number of trees increases sharply from the hilly areas up to the highland locations at about 800 metres above sea level, and as a result it is the predominant cider pear variety at higher locations.
 
Soil and climate conditions:
Essentially it is possible to distinguish between two types of geological formation in the Pöllau region: crystalline in the mountainous region (gneiss, quartz and mica slate) and the young tertiary layers of the bay.  The valley bottom consists of gravel and loam, or more usually a mixture of the two. In places, blue-grey, sandy tegel (a variety of Alpine slate) is overlaid with more or less powerful blocks of broken stone.
The Pöllau market district area is primarily home to fluvial sandy deposits dating back to the Pannonian era.
 
The surrounding mountains act as a natural block, shielding the region from the harsh winds from the north and lending the bay a mild climate.
The average annual rainfall is 900 mm.
 
- Styrian Hirschbirne:
The Hirschbirne variety is a Styrian seedling, and may originate from the ‘Schneebirne’ or ‘snow pear’ variety of the fruit (Pyrus nivalis).
 
Etymology:
Some say that the name Hirschbirne originallyderived from ‘Herbstbirne‘ ('autumn pear‘), which can be traced back to the north-east Styrian word ‘Hiarscht’ or ‘Hirscht’, a colloquial form of the word ‘Herbst’ – German for ‘autumn’.  The name refers to the fact that the variety is harvested in the autumn.
 
Others claim, on the other hand, that the name Hirschbirne comes from the German phrase ‘zugleich mit dem Hirse’ – roughly translated, ‘at the same time as millet’ – and refers to the time of year the fruit ripens. The ripening time of millet, however, is in late summer, while Hirschbirne only ripens in the autumn.
Another colloquial name for the Hirschbirne is ‘Rote Weinbirne’ (‘red wine pear’), while the synonym ‘Herbst-Mostbirne’ (‘autumn cider pear’) is also well-known.
 
Even if the synonymy of Hirschbirne with the ‘tepka’ variety is not entirely clear, it is safe to assume that the name has been used wrongly. Neither is the Hirschbirne identical with the Wolfsbirne from Germany, as one might have been forgiven for assuming from an early synonymy.
 
Whichever of these etymologies is correct, the name Pöllauer Hirschbirne has won out, and gained a foothold amongst the regional population.
 
Variety description:

Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman

Tree description:
Hirschbirne pears can be found in extensive fruit orchards or in lines alongside roads, on slopes and embankments and similar. Trees standing alone in the region might also be what remains of past orchards.
 
The traditional cultural form of the Hirschbirne is the large high-stem trees, with a conical crown.
The average height of the tree is around 10 metres, which is achieved after around 120 years. Its maximum growth height is 14-16 metres.
Thanks to its height, trees bearing the Hirschbirne usually tower over those of other pear varieties.
 
The tree growth is powerful, with the trunk up to 360 cm in circumference.
Both high-stem and half-stem trees are suited to commercial fruit growing. In recent years, however, the trend has been more towards middle-sized trunks or bush and dwarf trees.
 
The pear trees are distinguished by their longevity.
 
Tree care and fertilisation:
The Hirschbirne is particularly resistant to diseases and pests, as a result of which, pest control measures do not usually need to be taken. 
 
The planting of the tree normally involves a plant cutting in which a central bough is usually left. Apart from this, the young trees are pegged out and provided with browsing protection. In the following years, cutting measures at the crown are only carried out every few years, if required.
 
So far, most replantings have been carried out as part of campaigns of the ‘ARGE Streuobst’ (‘Fruit Tree Working Group’) and other agricultural marketing associations. The vast majority of the plant material comes from tree schools in the region, with a small proportion of the young trees being raised or refined by growers themselves.
Targeted fertilisation of the young trees only takes place in the first years.
 
Leaves and blossoms:
The leaves of Hirschbirne trees are rich in form, and are most frequently broad and ellipsoid in shape. The leaves are extremely hairy when young, with the underside in particular appearing whitish due to a thick hair felt on the surface. The upper side usually only features loose, curly hairs, and quickly loses its foliage. This coating of hair could be evidence of a genetic relationship with the snow pear.
 
The flowers of the Hirschbirne are distinguished by their high resistance to frost, and the 5 crown leaves are overwhelmingly pure white when fully-opened. Occasionally a small area of pink flowing over the edge will appear. The flowers carry 22 or more stamens on average, with the anthers often carmine red in colour.
The flowers of the Hirschbirne are distinguished by high resistance to frost.
 
Fruit description:
Compared to other varieties of pear, the Hirschbirne is small, bergamot-shaped and broader than it is long at the centre. The Hirschbirne has a compact fruit shape, unlike a ‘classic pear’. The fruits are rounded in cross-section.
 
The Hirschbirne could be described as a larger cider pear, or smaller ‘dessert pear’.
The fruit relief is gently ribbed on the calyx side, and overall the fruit is slightly heavier on one side than the other.
On average, the ripe fruit weighs 80.5 g. As a rule, fruit grown in low-lying locations is usually somewhat larger and heavier. The higher up in the hills the location of the orchards it was grown in, the lighter the fruit becomes.
 
The fruit’s moderately smooth and dull glossy peel is quite strongly developed, of reasonably tough consistency, and has a fairly strong, cinnamon-like aroma.
The peel is yellowy-green in colour when the fruit is ready to eat, shifting towards yellow as the fruit ripens further. The colour, usually a watery, murky red from exposure to the sun, initially changes to a reddish-orange with increasing ripeness in favoured locations, then back to yellow at the windfall stage.
The peel also features numerous distinctive and medium-sized light-brown lenticels. These are visible with the naked eye and often edged with a reddish tinge.
 
The flesh of the Hirschbirne is off-white in colour, rough in texture, firm, does not melt and is juicy. It is also described as ‘creamy’ at tastings.
The shape of the stone ring is spherical to shortly spindle-shaped, wide and roughly granulated. The core is large, and a large number of oval-shaped seeds are formed.
 
The fruit contains stone cells typical of cider pears, which are concentrated on a ring around the core. This also means the variety is particularly suited to drying.
 
The woody fruit stalk is around 29 mm long, and of medium thickness (2-3 mm). It is button-shaped towards the bough and fully developed. It is a shiny brown in colour, often with narrow green longitudinal stripes, and the stalk enters the stalk bend.
 
Flavour:
The Hirschbirne has a highly typical, harmonious aroma, and a tangibly sweet flavour. It is faintly sour and very slightly bitter.
 
The unripe fruit is highly astringent due to its high polyphenol content. As the flesh of the fruit becomes riper and its brown colouring increases (overripeness), the sweet proportion predominates and the bitter proportion recedes more or less completely.
Ripe fruit is characterised by its individual aroma, typical of dried pears, and its doughy consistency. Due to the stone cells it contains, the flavour is often described as ‘sandy’.
 
Ripeness, crop and harvest:
The Hirschbirne flowers and ripens late.
Its ripening period can be compared with its readiness to eat, and usually comes between mid-/end-September and mid-October. The Hirschbirne is normally not stored nowadays, instead being immediately processed. 
 
The trees of the Hirschbirne feature a high crop, with harvests of between around 250 and 1000 kg per tree, even though this can vary widely.
The first crops can be expected after around 10-12 years, and the tree will deliver its largest crops from the age of 20 years onwards.
 
Hirschbirne pears are harvested in different ways, with the fruit being shaken off the trees and gathered in immediately afterwards.
The pears are frequently also harvested by being picked up continuously, with ripe pears which have themselves fallen off the tree gathered in every two or three days and processed into mashes, dried fruits, conserves and the like. 
 
Ingredients:
The Hirschbirne has an especially high polyphenol and fibre content; it can have as much as five times more of the latter than dessert pears. Since the majority of its fibres consist of so-called soluble fibres, the Hirschbirne is also said to have a digestive effect and to have a beneficial influence on the intestinal flora.
The Hirschbirne also contains significant amounts of calcium and magnesium.
 
Storage:
Although the pears are in fact easy to transport and durable, they are not usually stored.
In the event that it is necessary to do so, they are stored in sacks, cases and the like, in the open air, cellars or the processing area itself.
 
Utilisation:
The Hirschbirne is best suited to processing intospirits, cider and dried fruit, as well as for fresh consumption.
Hirschbirne is normally used in an overripe condition both for processing into mash and distillation into Hirschbirne brandy later on, and for cider production.
The name Steirischer Hirschbirnenbrand is protected for the geographical region of Styria.
The fruit is also offered in the form of juice, vinegar, sparkling wine, jam and jellies, as well as numerous dishes including ‘Hirschbirnmostbraten’ (cutlets cooked in a cider sauce), the ‘B’soffener Hirschbirn-Bauer’, Hirschbirn strudel, ‘Hirschbirn fruit loaf, ‘Hirschbirn meat loaf’ and others.
The wood from the Hirschbirn tree is also used, particularly when making musical instruments.
 
- Marketing:
The Hirschbirne variety of pear and products manufactured with it are marketed under the name ‘Pöllauer Hirschbirne’ in the region.
The service chain surrounding the Hirschbirne runs from the farmers, through the firm organising the processing, to the gastronomic outlet. These include producers, direct marketers, farm shops and retailers (e.g. confectioneries, butchers and distilleries) and others.
 
Connection between the geographical area and traditional knowledge:
- The special soil conditions and mild climate of the region make it possible
  to cultivate and preserve Pöllauer Hirschbirnen pears in extensive
  orchards.
- In harmony with the native soil: Pöllauer Hirschbirne is a Styrian chance
  seedling which has adapted perfectly to local conditions.
- The flavour and aroma of Pöllauer Hirschbirnen pearsare directly related to
  the region’s mild climate.
- Production of Pöllauer Hirschbirnen pears is the result of traditional knowledge
  handed down to those active in this field: the traditional knowledge and
  experience of fruit growers (adaptation to the environmental conditions,
  propagation by seeds and root saplings, improvement of the genotype,
  know-how of harvesting process, and storage), the experience of those
  involved further down the processing chain, and retailers in marketing.
 
- Protection:
‘Steirischer Hirschbirnenbrand‘ is protected for the geographical region of Styria in the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus, Chapter B23.4: Spirits according to special or traditional processes. Annex 1: Protected Names.
  
Key words
Food and agriculture, traditional knowledge, Austria, region, Styria, Eastern Styria. region, district of Hartberg, Pöllauertal, Pöllau Valley, pear, Pöllauer Hirschbirne, Pöllau pear, Herbstbirne, Rote Weinbirne, Pyrus communis L.
   
Bibliography/ References
- ATTEMS, H. (1886a): Die werthvollsten Obstsorten für Steiermark. Graz,
  S. 26 (zitiert durch Möslinger et a. 2009).
- ATTEMS, H. (1886b): Mostobst. – Mittheilungen des k. k. österreichischen
  Pomologen-Vereines 1886. S 2-5 (zitiert durch Möslinger et a. 2009).
- ATTEMS, H. (1899): Österreichs Obstbau. Separatabdruck aus: ANONYMUS:
  Geschichte der österreichischen Land- und Forstwirtschaft und ihrer Industrien
  1848 bis 1898. Wien, S. 107 (zitiert durch Möslinger et a. 2009).
- April 2006: Hirschbirnenbrand
http://www.naturparke.at/  
- ARCHE NOAH: Obst-Sortenmappe.
http://www.arche-noah.at/etomite/index.php?id=157  
- BERNKOPF, S., KEPPEL, H. & NOVAK, R. (1999): Neue alte Obstsorten. Äpfel,
  Birnen und Steinobst. – 4.
  Aufl. Wien, S. 436.
- Birnensorten- Datenbank: Hirschbirne
http://www.ova-online.at/datenbank/birnensorten.php  
- BUND LEMGO: Obstsortenlisten aus historischen Büchern (A-K).
www.bundlemgo.de/obstsortenlisten.html  
- BUND LEMGO: Obstsortenlisten aus historischen Büchern (L-Z). www.bundlemgo.de/alte_obstsorten_teil_2.htm  
- Codex Alimentarius Austriacus Kapitel B23.4: Spirituosen nach besonderen
  oder traditionellen Verfahren. Anhang 1:Geschützte Bezeichnungen.
- Die Hirschbirne- Die Entdeckung
http://www.hirschbirne.at/  
- Diverse Unterlagen in den Regionen Pöllau und Stubenberg
- DIE OSTSTEIERMARK MIT ALLEN SINNEN ERLEBEN – Pöllauer
  Becken – der Naturpark Pöllauer Tal (Gaugl)
gw.eduhi.at/bundesarge/exkursionen/oststeiermark.doc  
- EIGEL, F. (1893): Ortsbeschreibung der Marktgemeinde Pöllau stammt der
  nächsten Umgebung. Dezember 1893. – Pöllau.
- EGLE, A. (1894 – 1899): Ortschronik von Pöllau
- eva & adam - „Sündenfall im Oststeirischen Kernland“
http://www.naturparkakademie.at/download/26-Wilfling_Kulturlandschaftssymposium.pdf  
- GRILL D., KEPPEL H.  Alte Apfel- und Birnensorten für den Streuobstanbau.
  Leopold Stocker Verlag, Graz, 2005; 218.
- GRÖßBAUER, K. (1912): 38. Hirschbirne. – In: LÖSCHNIG, J., MÜLLER,
  H. M. & PFEIFFER, H. (eds.): Empfehlenswerte Obstsorten (Normalsortiment
  für Niederösterreich). 2 Bände. Wien, S. 163 (zitiert durch Möslinger et a. 2009).
- GRÖßBAUER, K. (1913): Hirschbirne. – In: LÖSCHNIG, J. (ed.): Die Mostbirnen.
  Beschreibung der in Österreich am häufigsten angepflanzten Mostbirnensorten.
  Wien, S. 16-17. (zitiert durch Möslinger et a. 2009)
- GRÖßBAUER. Hirschbirne. Die Mostbirnen- Beschreibung der in Österreich
  am häufigsten angepflanzten Mostbirnensorten. Österreichischen Obstbau- u.
  Pomologen-Gesellschaft. Friedrich Sperl Verlag, Wien, 1913; S. 16.
- Hirschbirne (Pöllauer Hirschbirne)
http://www.ichkoche.at/cms/Magazin/laenderkueche/GenussRegionOesterreich/genussland.html?bu=H  
- KHULL, F. (1903): Steirischer Wortschatz als Ergänzung zu Schmellers
  Bayerischem Wörterbuch. – Graz, S. 66 (zitiert durch Möslinger et a. 2009).
- Klimaregion Pöllauer Bucht
www.verwaltung.steiermark.at  
- LÖSCHNIG, J. (1913): Die Mostbirnen. Beschreibung der in Österreich am
  häufigsten angepflanzten Mostbirnensorten. Wien, S. 221 (zitiert durch Möslinger
  et a. 2009).
- MÖSLINGER M., WILFLING A., KOMPOSCH H. Die Hirschbirne Wissenschaftliche
  Grundlage zur Beantragung einer geschützten Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)
  für die „Pöllauer Hirschbirne“ sowie Basis für einen nationalen Know- How-Transfer
  im Bereich Herkunftsschutz
  EndberichtGleisdorf, am 1. Februar 2009.
- Napoleon und die Hirschbirn
http://winter.kleinezeitung.at/steiermark/weiz/weiz/2165448/napoleon-hirschbirn.story  
- Obsthof Retter
 http://www.obsthof-retter.at/  
- Pöllauer Hirschbirne
http://www.varietymeanslife.eu/dok/p%C3%B6llauer_hirschbirne_projektvorstellung_19102009_p%C3%B6llau.pdf  
- Pöllauer Hirschbirne
www.naturpark-poellauertal.at  
- Pöllauer Hirschbirne
http://www.genuss-region.at/article/archive/13905
- Steiermärkische Landesregierung (Landhaus) Graz (Hrsg.) (1921): Landes-
  Normal-Sortiment von Kern-, Stein-, Schalen- und Beerenobst f. Stmk, Graz.
 
All internet references last accessed on 3. May 2010.
 
Language code
German
 
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
 
Regional contact 
Alois Pöltl
Schönau 45
8225 Pöllau
Phone: 03335/2045
   
Authors: Mag. Eva Sommer, Dr. Erhard Höbaus
  

17.02.2012, Lebensministerium III/4