Fürstenau, around 1900

In the 16th and 17th centuries «Spanish Soup» was the name of a popular stew of meat, vegetables and bouillon in southern Germany and in north-eastern Switzerland. It was adapted to the Sunday routine and thus allowed the maid to go to church as well, because it was pre-cooked and then kept on the range in a bronze bowl or put into the tiled stove. During the long stewing the steam escaped through a hole in the knob of the lid.

The soup comes from Spain, where it was called olla podrida. From there it found its way to Vienna as Olio-Suppe, as pot-pourri to France and as Spanische Suppe to Switzerland.