Old German Font Types
Old German Font
- Our Old Map Fonts™ Collection includes seven typefaces (ten fonts total) modeled after actual cartographic sources from about 1650 to 1770, among them the work of Emanuel Bowen (1694–1767), Geographer to King George II, and Thomas Jefferys (1710–1771), Geographer to King George III. All seven come with more genuine map ornaments than you.
- Kurrent—500 years of German handwriting. Kurrent is a style of connected hand-writing that was used between the 15th and 20th century, especially in the countries using the German language. The style is based on late medieval cursive writing and can be understood as the written counterpart to blackletter typefaces.
- Kurrent is a style of connected hand-writing that was used between the 15th and 20th century, especially in the countries using the German language. The style is based on late medieval cursive writing and can be understood as the written counterpart to blackletter typefaces.
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The Old German script includes various fonts. These developed from the early Middle Ages to modern times. I would like to show you some typical old German print and writing scripts here.
The Sütterlin script and the Sütterlin alphabet
The last example in the list above shows the Sütterlin script. It was developed by Ludwig Sütterlin in 1911 and taught at school as a German script until 1941. Even today many great-grandparents and grandparents can still read this script. Below you see the Sütterlin alphabet:
When I was young there was an old German poster in my family kitchen that used to drive me insane, because although I knew it was in German, I couldn’t read what was written on it. It looked to me like another language! “It’s because that is old German handwriting”, my mum told me. “Some of the letters look very different.” Today I’d like to show you what old German handwriting looks like, should you ever be faced with the same, confusing situation!
A little history first!
Old German Handschrift (handwriting), known as die Kurrentschrift or Kurrent for short in German, but also known simply as die alte deutsche Schrift (‘Old German script’), was closely modelled on the handwriting used in das Mittelalter (medieval times).
![Old german font alphabet Old german font alphabet](/uploads/1/1/9/5/119503986/462219952.jpg)
An updated version of Kurrent called Sütterlin was developed in the early 20th Century, and was used and taught in German schools until the government changed it to deutsche Normalschrift (‘normal German script’). This updated handwriting resembled das lateinisches Alphabet (Latin alphabet) more closely, and is the German handwriting that is still used and taught today.
Significant differences between old and new German handwriting
A point of confusion with old German handwriting is that some of its letters don’t look like their modern counterparts. The characters for c, e, n, m, and u, for example, all look very similar, while the h looks more like an f. If you are interested in learning what the old letters look like, study this photo of Kurrentschrift to familiarise yourself with them:
Kurrentschrift:
By Deutsche_Kurrentschrift.jpg: AndreasPraefckederivative work: Martin Kozák (Deutsche_Kurrentschrift.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Sütterlin (the updated version of Kurrent, used in early 20th Century):
By Der Barbar [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Old German Font Styles
Deutsche Normalschrift:
German Script Font
By Anhang zu RdErl. d. RMfWEV v. 1.9.1941 (Reichsministerium für Wissenschaft, Erziehung und Volksbildung) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Unlike old German, modern German handwriting is fairly easy to read and follow. Be sure to look out for the number 1, which can resemble a 7 at times. This is especially important when it comes to addressing letters and giving card details, for example!
Old German Font Translation
Here is a card sent to me by my German aunt, so you can see what modern German handwriting looks like ‘in action’!