REWIND – The Brommtopp – Mennonite Heritage Archives

Tales from the Mennonite Heritage Archives REWIND

A brommtopp on display at Neubergthal, Manitoba. Photograph courtesy of Conrad Stoesz, 2024.
A photograph from a brommtopp performance at the 1974 centennial of Mennonites in Manitoba in Neubergthal, Manitoba. MHA 053-197.
Brommtopp players in Sommerfeld, Manitoba, in 1914. MHA 054-003.
In this photograph from the 1920's, brommtopp players gather around their brommtopp. MHA 526-25.4.

In this REWIND episode, host Dan Dyck explores the Mennonite holiday tradition called brommtopp, named for the strange musical instrument used, which can be translated as “rumbling top”. This tradition was brought to Imperial Russia from Prussia, and continued in Manitoba into the 1950’s.

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Podcast Series: Tales from the Mennonite Heritage Archives
Episode 9: The Brommtopp
Date: January 4, 2026
Host: Dan Dyck
Published by The Mennonite Heritage Archives

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