With the rise of industrialization in the late 19th century, the need for quick, cheap, and long-lasting food gave birth to a new generation of sausages — boiled-smoked, finely ground, and easily stuffed into casings. The sausage (or krenvirsh, as it’s known in Bulgarian) quickly became a staple of the urban working-class lunch, especially in Germany, Austria, and later in Eastern Europe.
In its modern form, it has been known since 1805, with some sources crediting German butcher Johann Georg Lahner as its creator. He moved to Vienna, where he first introduced the sausage in his local shop. It became known as the Frankfurter.
The Bulgarian name for the product derives from the Austrian term for horseradish — Kren — combined with wurst (with a South German/Austrian pronunciation). The word is borrowed from Austrian German — Krenwürstchen.
In Plovdiv, the first place for sausage production appeared in the years following the Liberation (from Ottoman rule), located on the city’s Main Street. It was a small shop situated between the Republic and Balkan cinemas, run by Czech immigrant Josef Putik.
Before his arrival, Bulgarians were not accustomed to this type of food, as they typically consumed meat fresh, not in the form of sausages. It took the owner quite some time to introduce his delicacy to the people of Plovdiv, and he invested significant effort in advertising it. In the beginning, he even handed out free mustard and mayonnaise to attract customers and highlight the product’s flavor. Naturally, at the time, the sausages were made from real meat, without artificial additives or enhancers.
Gradually, his shop gained popularity and, within a few years, became a landmark on Plovdiv’s main commercial street.
Sadly, his entrepreneurial legacy is almost forgotten today, though the memory was revived by Dr. Stefan Shivachev during one of the tours organized under the “Spiritual Routes in Plovdiv” initiative.
