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What is a Heideschnucke?

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sheep in heather neer Schneverdingen

I love the word, "Heideschnucke," because it sounds like "schnuckelig," which means snug or cozy. This breed of sheep is anything but snug, however. The hair is long, but too coarse for most textile applications. They are raised in the northern hemisphere from Scottland to Siberia and are quite lean and easy to raise. The meat has more of a game taste to it which some people like. It had a resurgence in the 1990s which kept the breed from dying out.

Sheep were very important up until the 19th century, especially in the north of Germany, in a special area called the "Lueneburger Heide" or Luneburg Heath. The Heath is a stretch of flat land punctuated by low hills, all of which were created under glacial influence. Parts of the landscape were bogs, from which peat was harvested. The soil is poor and very acidic, which favors the growth of heather and juniper (where "Wachholder" berries come from).

Sheep numbers dropped off by the turn of the 20th century and have been in decline ever since. The Lueneburger Sheep Club believes this was due to the competition from cotton and the new fertilizers which appeared on the market and made it easier to grow crops. During the 90s, however, many small farms throughout Germany started breeding the sheep and saved the German Grey Heath sheep from extinction.

As a side note, most of these sheep have horns which curl back on themselves, like the Rocky Mountain Bighorns. The words "Schnucke" and "Schnecke" (snail) remind me of these horns.


Photo © ArtMechanic GNU FDL

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What is a Heideschnucke? originally appeared on About.com German Food on Friday, March 21st, 2014 at 11:50:01.

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