Kasperle

German puppet

Also known as: Kasperl

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Article History

Kasperle, most prominent puppet character in Germany and Austria, where Kasperltheater became synonymous with puppet theatre. The character developed in late 17th-century Austria from Hanswurst, the cunning peasant servant of the Viennese popular theatre. Named Kasperle in the early 18th century, he was brought to Germany by traveling puppeteers and became an extraneous but popular character in marionette productions of Faust. Kasperle was established as a hand puppet in the mid-19th century, when he was given his workingman’s identity and traditional yellow-trimmed red jacket. Like the English Punch, Kasperle adapts jokes to local audiences and beats his associates with a slapstick, but his performance is much refined in Germany today.