Wolfgang Krege (1 February 1939 in Berlin – 13 April 2005 in Stuttgart) was a German author and translator.
In the 1990s he retranslated The Hobbit; compared to the earlier translation by Walter Scherf, who had left out or shortened most of the poems and songs embedded into the plot, and which moreover contained illustrations by children's books illustrator Klaus Ensikat, Krege's version rather appeals to a more grown-up readership.
Where "Rivendell" remained untranslated by Scherf, Krege used Bruchtal and standardised the place names according to the German translation of The Lord of the Rings by Margaret Carroux and E.-M. von Freymann (Klett-Cotta 1969/1970).
[2] The new German interpretation of 2002 tries stronger than the old Carroux version to reflect the different style of speech employed by the various characters in the book.
For example, he translated Samwise Gamgee's often-employed phrase "Master Frodo" to "Chef" (German (and French): boss; not to be confused with English "master cook") - a term which many fans of classic fantasy literature in German-speaking countries think of as totally improper.