A display for the German brand Salamander at the MST Shoe Outlet in Pirmasens, Germany, features various depictions of the company's fire salamander symbol. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
It’s amazing how many long-ago footwear references have been triggered in my memory since my first visit to Pirmasens, whose official German designation translates to “shoe city.”
My childhood years coincided with the advertising heyday of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, and even if I wanted to, I’ll never be able to forget the commercials in which Spike Lee alter ego Mars Blackmon declared “it’s gotta be the shoes.”
Then there was the December evening that my favorite hometown radio station played the tear-jerker tune “The Christmas Shoes.”
The most impactful flashback came from the miniseries “Chernobyl,” in which nuclear physicist Ulana Khomyuk warns a local apparatchik about the danger, only to be told that he prefers his opinion to hers.
“Before you were deputy secretary, you worked in a shoe factory,” she retorts. “Yes, I worked in a shoe factory, and now I’m in charge,” he says.
This last reference is the most apt to Pirmasens, which used to abound in the shoe factories that were its economic lifeblood for decades. In the record-setting year of 1969, more than 32,000 workers were employed in the local shoe industry, whose production peaked at 62 million pairs.
A selection of Salamander brand shoes for sale at an outlet store in Pirmasens, Germany. The company was founded in Kornwestheim in 1885 and became one of the icons of the German footwear industry. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
The Schuster-Joss fountain graces a square outside the Lutheran church on Hauptstrasse in Pirmasens, Germany. A testament to the city's shoemaking legacy, the fountain is a short walk from the allure of Schlossplatz. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
St. Pirmin Church rises above the Schlossplatz in Pirmasens, Germany, whose tiered fountain features a pair of swan statues at the bottom and a representation of a steer at the top. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
The former Peter Kaiser Werk 1 facility in Pirmasens, whose official German designation translates to “shoe city.” Founded in 1838, Peter Kaiser is Germany’s oldest shoe brand. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
Nowadays, the Rheinland-Pfalz city about 20 miles from Kaiserslautern still wears its shoemaking heritage proudly, and I decided to explore it through a combination of shopping and shoe-leather investigation.
The retail therapy aspect of my two journeys introduced me to several German brands, including Peter Kaiser, Semler and Salamander.
Eight outlet stores interspersed through the city offer wares from assorted manufacturers. Three of them are conveniently located along or near a stretch of Blocksbergstrasse in the southwestern part of town.
The first stop for me and my German fellow traveler was Kennel & Schmenger. On the way inside, I noticed a parked Porsche Cayenne, which probably should have tipped me off to the cost of the merchandise.
Men’s shoes occupied only a minute section surrounded by a sea of stilettos, boots and other women’s footwear so diverse that comprehensive categorization is beyond me.
My travel companion commented on the prices as I was about to pick up a sneaker for a closer look, and upon turning it over, I saw a price tag of 100 euros. She was focused on a sticker that said B-Ware, meaning it was in the second quality tier in the German system.
That was enough buyer beware for me, so we headed down the street to a place that on Google Maps is called MST Shoe Outlet. The three brands sold there are Bugatti, TT. Baggatt and Salamander.
A wall of mosaics on Bahnhofstrasse in Pirmasens, Germany, has images that allude to the city's long history as the hub of German shoe manufacturing. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
One of the two swan statues adorning the Schlossplatz fountain in Pirmasens, Germany, has images on its wings that depict human footprints and various types of shoes. Visual representations of Pirmasens' shoemaking legacy abound in the Rheinland-Pfalz city. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
The landmark St. Pirmin Church is about 900 yards from the Semler shoe factory and outlet store in Pirmasens, Germany. Named after the saint, Pirmasens has an official designation of "shoe city" in recognition of its longtime status as a footwear industry hub. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
An advertisement for the Semler shoe brand hangs on the wall of a building in front of the company's factory and outlet store in Pirmasens, Germany. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
A stone slab marked with the insignia of the Semler shoe company hangs above the door of a nearby building on Alleestrasse in Pirmasens, Germany. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
Old City Hall in Pirmasens, Germany, houses a museum, which has an exhibition on the shoemaking legacy of the area. The building is one side of the city's main square opposite its signature fountain and St. Pirmin Church. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
After trying on several possibilities, I settled on a pair of forest green Bugatti boots that I absolutely loved. And with the 20% discount offered that day, I paid about 70 bucks for them.
The marketing tactics for Salamander shoes also caught my attention. Native to the Baden-Württemberg city of Kornwestheim, the brand features a fire salamander as its symbol.
In the rear of the outlet store is a colorful toylike salamander statue with an outstretched arm, presumably inviting customers to be photographed alongside this German shoe icon.
Although it was too late in the day to look further at the inventory, I tracked down the website of the company that owns the three brands showcased in the store and found that an online Salamander store was launched last year. That should make for a fun bit of browsing sometime.
I made a subsequent sojourn to Pirmasens after Christmas to check out the wares of Peter Kaiser, Germany’s oldest shoe brand. But the huge Lemberger Strasse facility shown on an outlet store map I had is, as I later learned, permanently closed.
The brand’s new home is at Caprice, the only one of the three southwestern stores I had skipped on the earlier visit. My hopes were dashed when the salesperson said the fairly sparse Peter Kaiser inventory there consisted entirely of women’s shoes.
The bad timing continued at the Semler factory and outlet store, which was deserted that day because, well, that’s year-end Germany for you. At least I was able to get my bearings for next time thanks to the short walk from Pirmasens’ namesake church, a helpful landmark that overlooks the city’s signature tiered fountain and central square, Schlossplatz.
The square is also home to Old City Hall, where a museum inside includes an exhibition on the shoe history of Pirmasens. Alas, that spot too was closed until the week after New Year’s.
So I checked out a different testament to feet feats, dropping by the Schuster-Joss fountain just down the pedestrian street through the old town. It depicts a man holding a shoe and is ringed with angular walls bearing inscriptions celebrating the shoemaker’s craft.
Between the shoe factories and the museum, I have plenty of incentive to return to Pirmasens and hope to carve out a full day in the very near future.
That should afford me enough time to check out another cool attraction I learned about, the German Shoe Museum in nearby Hauenstein. Besides the Guinness record-holding largest shoe in the world, its displays include ads past and present as well as a Salamander collection of more than 4,000 pairs and single shoes produced between the late 19th century and 2004, when the company was dissolved.
And lastly, after seeing a postcard with a lovely artist’s rendering of the Schlossplatz and St. Pirmin Church, I can’t wait to see what that stunning fountain looks like when the water is flowing.
On the QT
Addresses: MST Shoe Outlet, Am Klosterpfuhl 1; Kennel & Schmenger, Im Erlenteich 5; Caprice and Peter Kaiser outlet store, Blocksbergstrasse 158; Semler outlet store, Alleestrasse 36; Old City Hall museum, Hauptstrasse 26
Cost: Varies by store. Old City Hall museum admission, 2.50 euros
Hours: For MST Shoe Outlet, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. For Kennel & Schmenger, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday; For Caprice, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. For Semler, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. All stores closed Sunday. For the Old City Hall museum, 2-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; closed Monday.
Information: www.mst-service.de/outlets, https://outlet.kennel-schmenger.com/en-de/, www.semler.de, https://brand.capriceshoes.com/en/caprice/shoe-outlet/
