A Mozartkugel, is a small, round confection made of marzipan, nougat and
dark chocolate. It was originally known as the “Mozartbonbon”, and was created
by Salzburg confectioner Paul Fürst in 1890 and named after Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. Since then, similar products have been made by other manufacturers,
with a variety of similar recipes. Some are hand-made and others are
industrially produced. Origins
Paul Fürst, a confectioner, came to Salzburg in 1884 and opened a shop at
number 13, Brodgasse. He made Mozartbonbon for the first time in 1890,
later changing the name to Mozartkugeln. He established a company, Fürst, that
continues to sell Mozartkugeln. Recipe
The original recipe for Mozartkugeln is as follows: First, a ball of green
pistachio marzipan covered in a layer of nougat is produced. This ball is then
placed on a small wooden stick and coated in dark chocolate. The stick is
then placed vertically, with the ball at the top, on a platform to allow the
chocolate to cool off and harden. Finally, the stick is removed; the hole
that it leaves behind is filled with chocolate coating, and the ball is
wrapped in tin foil. The balls remain fresh for about eight weeks at room
temperature. Rights to the name
When imitation products began to appear, Fürst initiated a court process to
attempt to secure a trademark. At first, the dispute concerned only confectionery
producers in Salzburg, but later spread to include the competition from Germany.
The result was an agreement which obliged Fürst’s competitors to use other
names. The Mirabell firm, based in Grödig near Salzburg, chose the name,
“Real Salzburg Mozartkugeln”. The Bavarian producer, Reber, opted for
“Real Reber Mozartkugeln”. In 1996, a dispute between Fürst and a subsidiary
of the Swiss food producer, Nestlé, which wanted to market “Original Austria
Mozartkugeln”, was decided in the third instance. Only Fürst's products may be
called "Original Salzburg Mozartkugeln". = Dispute between Mirabell and Reber =
At the end of the 1970s, a dispute arose between the Mozartkugeln producers
Mirabell and Reber over the trademark. A provisional agreement was reached in
1981 between representatives of the Austrian and German governments, whereby
only Austrian producers were to be allowed to use the label "Mozartkugeln".
Reber protested against this agreement, and the EC-Commissioner in Brussels
charged with deciding in the affair finally declared the agreement invalid.
This is why Reber may legitimately and continuously use his Genuine Reber
Mozart-Kugeln trademark, though with a hyphen in-between.
Nonetheless, only Mirabell Mozartkugeln are allowed to be round. Other
industrially produced Mozartkugeln must have one flat side.
Trivia The Mozartkugel won the gold medal at a
fair in Paris in 1905. In the winter of 2006, 80 oversized
polyester Mozartkugeln, each with a diameter of 1.6 metres, were placed in
the old town of Salzburg. They had been designed by artists. On the night of the
27th of March, vandals removed one of these Mozartkugeln from the
Franziskanergasse, where it had been bolted to the ground. They then rolled
the Mozartkugel onto the street, causing damages of 7000 euro.
References ^ Mozartkugeln: echt oder original?
^ Mozartkugel: Pralinenkrieg ums Original
^ Nur die Kugel rollt ^ derStandard.at
External links History of the Mozartkugel
Café Konditorei Fürst Salzburg