The Gardener’s Zunftstub

Every citizen was a member of one of the twenty guilds which elected the governing body of the city. Ammeisters were chosen from among the artisans (after 1349) and Stettmeisters from the nobility. The portraits in the manner of Arcimboldo come from the Gardeners’ Zunftstub (in French poêle, the name given to the room or building in which men of the same trade gathered together) in Rue du Faubourg National. The paintings show the importance given to these meeting places — even the poorest guilds decorated them. They also show us the fruit and vegetables sold in Strasbourg at the time.