The Stoessel lute is a string instrument invented by Georg Stössel in 1914 in Cologne (Köln), Germany. Its steel strings are fingered not by putting one's hand round the neck, but over the end of it. To this end, most Stössel lutes have very short necks. It is, in effect, a hybrid between a necked string instrument and a zither making it a Lute Zither.