The cittern, in the 17th and 18th centuries, was notably in bourgeois and folk circles, particularly in Germany. The construction of "Zistern", as citterns are now called in German, is no longer exclusively reserved for instrument makers organized in guilds. It was especially in rural areas that carpenters began to build the new simplified form in the 18th century. Furthermore, in pietist circles of the 18th century, the cittern was often used to accompany spiritual songs. Thus the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, a Moravian community established in 1722 in Saxony, quickly expanded throughout the German-speaking sphere as well as in England, but also throughout the world from 1732, by dispatching missionaries carrying their instruments with them . Thus in its spread outside German borders in its evolution, the cittern known modifications and specifications specific to other countries/regions than Germany, like the theorbo cittern which was found a lot in the north of France or the Swiss citterns. Indeed, in Switzerland three local variants of the cittern appeared during the 19th century: the Emmental, Toggenburg and Entlebuch cittern. The Entlebuch cisterns, always anonymous, can be identified by their workmanship as products of a handful of workshops and had regional importance. Made in the Entlebuch valley located in the canton of Lucerne, it is also likely that certain instruments like this were made on the outskirts of Bern. Indeed, the cittern offered here has the coat of arms of the Republic of Berne in a transfer on the heel. In all cases, the particularity of the Entlebuch cittern is easily recognized by its aesthetics. It has a body with wider, pear-shaped ends (bridge level). In addition, the head has a specific peg with metal pegs, matching with a key, as can be found on harps or zithers. But one of these most distinctive signs is the fact that it has decal decorations representing flower subjects or genre scenes on the table and sides. The background is usually decorated with a full-surface decal depicting a portrait. It is said that the Entlebuch cittern was an instrument given to young women as gifts of friendship and love, because all kinds of declarations of love are hidden in the decals affixed to these instruments, testimonies of as much more interesting from the point of view of popular history. Technical characteristics: Top: Maple Back: Maple Sides: Maple Neck: Maple Fingerboard: Tinted maple Width at nut: 48.5 mm Radius: Flat Frets: 12 frets Scale: 464 mm Profile: "D" wide Country of manufacture: Switzerland Year : 1800's Finish: Natural Decorations: Numerous decals on all parts of the instrument / Columns on the edge of the heel Details: Repaired slots and treated wood-burning traces / An apocryphal tuning key supplied with the cittern / Extremely rare instrument Like all our instruments, This cittern has been carefully restored and is presented for sale in its collectible condition. An extremely rare instrument since to date, only 16 other Entlebuch citterns have been identified in combined private and public collections. Here is the 17th cittern of the Edentlebuch also called Entlebuch Halszither dating from the middle of the 19th century to emerge from history and to be presented here for sale, a true museum instrument.