Neuss - Frings

Located just outside the Quirinus Münster is this Frings memorial.

Josef Frings, born in Neuss, served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1942 to 1969 and was a figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism.

He was very popular in Cologne and the Kölsch language has the verb "fringsen" ("to frings") that is connected to him. "Fringsen" means "stealing" food or coal.

The expression dates back on a sermon which he held after WWII. He referred to the looting of coal trains and the bad supply situation in the grim winter in Cologne.

"We live in times where the individual, in his need, ought to be allowed to take what he needs to preserve his life and health, if he cannot obtain it through other means, work or bidding."

Note the three briquettes, that refer to the verb. They are probably "fringsed".