Entries about festival

"Überdruck", a local band from Schwäbisch Gmünd

Schwäbisch Gmünd is a small town in the Rems valley east of Stuttgart, relatively unimportant nowadays. Until 1803, however, it was a free imperial city. Its old public buildings still show the pride and ambition that goes with this status.
Once per year Schwäbisch Gmünd is ruled by brass and drums played by people in strange masks and vestments. During the annual Guggemusik festival, some 20 top class Gugge bands from near and far play on stage and in the streets. They will smash the ear drums of any 'serious' musician but it is just... gorgeous.

What I said above about Guggemusik is only partly true for these ambitious, semi-professional bands. Their music may sound messy and coincidental but is in fact well practised and rehearsed. To give you a better impression there should be videos here, but I don’t have an account to upload them, sorry.

The annual Guggemusik festival takes place in the squares of Schwäbisch Gmünd on one weekend before carnival, usually in late January or early February – check the town's website for the exact date, it will be published a couple of weeks earlier. The festival begins on Friday evening with the Guggenball (tickets needed). Saturday is the best day for visitors. In the morning the Narrenbaum (jester tree) is erected in front of the town hall. After the official reception by the mayor, the 20 participating bands will play all afternoon on the stages in Marktplatz and Johannisplatz and also in the streets and pubs. At 6 p.m. the Monster Concert begins on both stages. On Sunday, the main event takes place inside the sports hall in Katharinenstraße: the Guggemusikfrühschoppen with all the bands and a lot of music, noise and drinking till late afternoon (entrance fee).

During the afternoon of Saturday, the two stages in Marktplatz and Johannisplatz are busy non-stop. The bands march in from the right, play a couple of songs on stage, then leave to the left while the next band is already waiting on the other side.

Two bands from Schwäbisch Gmünd participated in the Guggemusik festival: Gassapfetza ("Alley Smashers") and Überdruck ("overpression"). I assume that these groups were also involved with the organization of the festival. As locals they had their fans in the crowd and put on a big show. Their music is as flamboyant as the colour... These bands are N-O-I-S-Y... I was standing front and center next to the stage, which was great for taking photos and video but hard labour for my eardrums.

Tschäddärä (name untranslatable) is a band form Lörrach, situated on the German side of the Rhine but very close to Basel. They showed up as devilish gangsters. Their conductor has angel's wings on his back but otherwise does not look too angelic either...
Drums and percussion are mounted on little two-wheeled carts which are connected with the player's belt so that he pushes the cart when walking and has the hands free for drumming.

After the intro piece conductor and musicians take their heads off. It's easier for them to move and play without, although not as impressive for the spectators. At the end of the show the heads are put on again.

Despite their Robin Hood outfit, Les Pampana's are not from Sherwood Forest but from Cudrefin in the French speaking part of Switzerland.

Guggemusik is even known in Britain! The fancy musical Beefeaters of Frumptarn Barnsley Guggenband from Barnsley, UK

The Mühlbach-Bazis from Eggingen had the most imaginative masks and dresses. Afterwards I learned that they in fact won the prize for the best outfit at the festival!

Rondo Bellinziano have used and italianized the name of their home town: noooo... they are from Bad Bellingen in the south of Baden, not far from Basel.
To me, they had the best sound of all the bands I listened to that day.

Saubachgugga is a small, probably local band of about 10 or 12 musicians. They were not part of the official programme and did not get a space on stage. They simply came and played in the streets to be there and participate in the fun, and they were not the only ones.

"Kehrwoch'" - A Swabian Virtue
We even observe one of the most cherished Swabian virtues: "Kehrwoch'" refers to the weekly cleaning duty, which takes turns among the inhabitants of a house. It is a Swabian custom which is taken very seriously. On Saturday, the alley has to be swept no matter what. This applies under all circumstances, even if it concerns a stage where a band of 30 Gugge musicians is playing right now...
(Seriously, he was cleaning the stage because it was full of muddy snow and thus dangerously slippery.)

Still Life Off Stage
Photographers, have your cameras ready if you come across a band who are having a break and have dumped their masks and instruments outside a pub. You may discover one or the other fantastic unintended still life. (Don't touch anything, though.) Here is a collection of my favouriste shots.

Bühler Lichtputzer

This blog entry is special, because the photos are just a few hours old. We are in the middle of the High Days 2017. There is still some leftover confetti stuck in my hair while I am writing this. In Bühl they are certainly partying all night.

Bühl is a small town in the Upper Rhine Plain, just south of Baden-Baden. It belongs to the Ortenau, which is a wine and fruit growing region at the foot of the Black Forest. This is not one of the big Fasnet centres, but one where this festival is thriving and developing well.

I came to Bühl because of a silly coincidence. I was asked for help identifying two photos of a carnival parade in the 1970s that were found in our city archive. One showed a witch, the other a jester figure with a tool that looked like an oversized pair of scissors but strangely deformed. With a bit of serendipity and patient searching, I came across the jester guild of Bühl – strike! Now I wanted to see them in real life.

Bühl’s guild Narrhalla Bühl 1826 e.V. holds the main parade on Sunday afternoon. My impression ist hat they are sort of a roof organization for the several jester guilds in Bühl. The Narrendaddel, a single figure, leads the parade. Hemdglunkerle in white nightshirts, Quetschedeufel („plum devils“), Schrättle, Rebgeister („vine spirits“) and two witch guilds are all at home in Bühl.

The oldest carnival tradition is connected with the Lichtputzer („candle cleaners“) guild and dates back to the year 1534. Historical reports from the 16th century tell of a certain baker, a notorious drunkard and jester, who would note all happenings throughout the year in his book and then, during the carnival days, roam the village pubs together with is companions and hold a jester court. Scissors were used to cut the candlewick so that the person’s „light could burn more brightly from now on“ – symbolically, of course. The Lichtputzer Häs was invented in the 1970s as a revival of this tradition. They carry oversized models of those special scissors that were used to cut candlewicks in former times.

Plum and Pear

Bühl has been the namesake of the famous Bühler Zwetschgen, a species of blue plums, similar to damson plums but not the same. These fruit are popular because they are tasty and easy to cultivate, and because there are so many uses for them in the kitchen. They make a great topping for cakes, they make woderful jam and plum puree, they can be dried, used for sauces, and for schnapps making (Zwetschgenwasser). Of course these fruit are alive and present in Bühl’s carnival parade. A guild from neighbouring Neusatz, named Niesatzer Hurzle, have created two fruit figures, the plum and the pear. Thus blue and green are their colours.

Dozens of guilds from the small villages in the northern part of the Ortenau, around Rastatt and Baden-Baden come to Bühl to join the parade. A place like this shows how lively the Fasnet tradition is, with new guilds forming all the time and new figures being designed. Witches are particularly popular.

In addition to the Fasnet guilds, many groups, clubs, teams, companies, schools from Bühl and surroundings are taking part. Some local issues are addressed, too. In Bühl the church bells, respective the question whether they should toll the hours at night or not, divide public opinion into two parties.

While one side likes and wants the ringing of the bells, the other side wants undisturbed sleep. The priest (the real one) is keeping out of the discussion, he marches ahead with a sign saying, „Not my business“ and „I don‘t care“.

A scene that made us all laugh… A huge cart with a confetti cannon on top arrived. The guy at the cannon spotted an open window on the first floor and, sitting in the window, one of his mates he obviously knew well. He aimed and shot a full load of confetti into his mate’s living room. (Moral of story: Beware of your friends...)

Allda Esel from Kappelwindeck – funny donkeys.

The flail dance: This guild’s Häs represents farmers from former times. The flail is their accessoure. They form a row with the flails on their shoulders, and one by one dive underneath the flails from front to back. The witch is an intruder.

Dreizipfeleshansele from Achern - one of the prettiest figures I ever saw.

PICTURE GALLERY:

On the train back home I found myself among a horde of red and black devils whom I had seen in the parade. They came from a village near Rastatt – the Saubergteufel from Ottenau. Other passengers and I talked to some of them. They were good fun. It must be really cool to go on tour with a whole bunch of friends like they do.

From witch with love

Since we are in Switzerland already, here is another… Liestal is a pretty, innocent-looking little town in the surroundings of Basel, capital of semi-kanton Basel-Land. Like almost everywhere in Switzerland, the old town has survived the centuries unharmed and preserved its historical charms. A peaceful place, it seems.
However, this is just the facade. Once per year the citizens of Liestal show a different side of their faces and turn their town into the Front Yard of Hell.

The carnival is what Liestal is most famous for. They have their parade with masks and colourful costumes and confetti yadda yadda in the afternoon, but after nightfall the real thing starts. The main event of their carnival, called Chienbäse, is a fire parade. "Broomsticks" of burning wood are carried and iron wagons loaded with blazing piles of logs are pulled through the narrow main street of the old town. Scary, and quite something to watch!!!!

Sunday Afternoon Parade

The parade on Sunday afternoon, i.e. Sunday after Ash Wednesday, is a colourful event with many masked groups, some wagons, lanterns and Sujets, Guggemusik bands, drums and flutes. Bags full of Räppli (confetti) and goodies, flowers, oranges are thrown to the spectators - in other words, it is a smaller version of the Cortège parades in Basel, in similar style and with similar masks and outfits. Visiting with children is no problem at all, there are no safety issues (except getting lost in the crowd or being hit by a flying orange). It starts around 2 p.m. and will take a couple of hours to pass through the streets of the town. In bright sunshine everything appears pretty and harmless, but this event is just the prelude for the main one, the "Chienbäse" fire parade after dark. The cliques with the big lanterns will make another appearance in the evening.

Chienbäseumzug

The main event in Liestal's Fasnacht is the fire parade, named Chienbäseumzug after the Chienbäse, the burning brooms made from pine logs that are carried through the old town. It takes place on Sunday after Ash Wednesday in the evening, in other words: the night before Morgestraich in Basel. If you don't mind getting little sleep you can easily combine both events.
The cliques with the illuminated big lanterns march at the beginning of the night parade. However, they play a secondary role, unlike in Basel, because everyone is waiting for the fires to come. From afar you can already spot the shine reflected on the facades and in the windows of the houses and tension is rising.

The parade involves around 300 Chienbäse and some 20 iron fire wagons and baskets. It is really something, an archaic spectacle (although it is just 110 years old), scary and impressive at the same time.
The burning brooms are carried on one shoulder. Each of them weighs between 25 and 100 kilograms. A look into the faces of the carriers shows how hard it is to carry them. They wear helmets and protective jackets, but they are nevertheless glad to have some water poured over them by the firemen at every stop. You'd think this is the kind of dare that young guys do, but there are people of all ages participating, men and women.
The most spectacular element of the parade, however, are the fire wagons. There are more than 20 iron wagons loaded with piles of pinewood logs that are set ablaze. They are pulled by 10-16 people and their flames go as high as the roofs of the houses. They cause an immense heat, and when they stop the spectators have to duck and cover up.

The parade enters the old town through the gate underneath the Törli, the medieval gate tower. In between the groups, the fire brigade gives the interior of the passage a thorough shower with three or four hoses to keep the wooden parts wet and prevent any smouldering. One wagon will stop after passing the Törli, be pushed backwards through the gate tower and pulled back in. These are the Törli-Waggis, the one and only group that have the privilege to pass the gate three times instead of only once.

When: Sunday after Ash Wednesday, the evening before the Morgestraich in Basel. Start is at 19.15 - be there in time. Thanks to the date and the frequent train connections it can easily be combined with a visit to Morgestraich in Basel if you don't mind getting little or no sleep that night.
Where: Start and lighting of the brooms and wagons is at the upper end of Burgstraße. The route goes along Burgstraße through the Törli (gate tower), along Rathausstraße, the main street of the old town, then up Rebgasse and Gerbergasse to Gestadeckplatz. See the map on the website of the Chienbäse-Verein.

So far they have not managed to burn down their town, LOL - in fact, Liestal is the fire-safest place in the whole area that night while the rest of the semi-canton would be in deep trouble if a fire broke out elsewhere. All fire brigades from near and far are on duty in Liestal. Every 50 metres there is at least one fireman with the hose ready. They know what they are doing.
I spoke to a lady who works for the municipality and used to be in charge of security. She said they are sure that fire protection works. If anything or anyone started smouldering the fire would be put out within seconds. There is only one apparent danger that they really fear: an outbreak of panic among the spectators. I do not want to imagine the mess that a panic would cause.

The spectators ought to know what they are doing, too. Ask yourself honestly whether you have the nerves or not to withstand being so close to the flames, among heat and smoke and flying sparks, squeezed into dense crowds in a rather narrow street with a solid house in your back and nowhere to run. If your answer is yes - welcome to the adventure.
If you have the slightest doubt, do not enter the old town but watch the parade at the beginning or the end where there is more room.
Please read the safety rules. Watching in Rathausstraße is not for the faint-hearted. You would not get me in there even if you offered me a million Swiss Francs - no way. Thanks to local friends who organized our visit we were able to watch from a room on the third floor of a house, but even behind closed windows we felt the heat of the fires.

Photo taken from TV transmission

Important Safety Rules

These safety rules are published on the web in German and French. I am translating them into English here, as these are really important to know. Please take them seriously.

- Keep enough distance from the fire wagons and the broom carriers.
- Keep a strict eye on children. Especially with children it is recommended not to watch the parade inside the old town but at the end of the route (Rebgasse, Gerbergasse) where there are fewer crowds and more space.
- Children under 6 may watch the parade only from a distance outside the parade route.
- Children under 12 must be accompanied by a parent.
- Children do not belong on the shoulders of adults. The heat is much worse up there.
- Firecrackers are strictly banned.
- People with health problems or walking difficulties are urgently advised to stay away from the parade route. (Ditto for claustrophobia and fear of fire.)

- Stay on the sidewalks, do not cross the street during the parade (because the ground is full of embers).
- Taking photos in the street is dangerous because it is hard to estimate distances through the lens or display of a camera (and your attention is focused in one direction and you don't see what is going on behind you).
- Make sure you know where to find an escape route in emergency. (Tricky one, because there are very few side lanes and the crowds block everything).
- Attention, flying sparks and embers. No liability for damage. (Wear suitable clothes, natural materials not plastic, an old leather jacket is best. Cover your head and hair.)
Source: http://www.fasnacht-liestal.ch (translation and comments in brackets by yours truly)

Tuesday afternoon in Offenburg is nourishing indeed. The main event is called „Hexenfraß“ (Witch Food). The local witch guild feed children and also big people with smoked sausages and rolls. These are thrown down into the crowd from the windows and balconies of the houses around the main square.

This event came into existence in the first carnival season after the end of World War II, during the French occupation. The military governor had banned any street carnival and announced that any witch, any jester who appeared in the streets would immediately be arrested. The witch guild bowed, „Oui, bien sûr, Monsieur!“, but secretly they put their thinking caps on. The governor had said „dans la rue“, but he had said nothing about windows on the first floor…

So the guild members picked up their courage and their masks and outfits, dressed up inside the houses and made their appearance in the windows. The French military had enough sense of humour to accept and respect their chuzpah. The ban has obviously long been lifted but the witches keep up the custom.

Offenburg is the birthplace of the Witch as a figure in the Alemannic Fastnacht. In 1933, not earlier than that as explained above, the first witches appeared in Offenburg’s parade. Three years later, in 1936, the first witch guild (Hexenzunft) was founded in Offenburg. In other words, in the middle of the Nazi era, which may explain why the post-war French government was so restrictive about the street carnival.

There is another, older guild in Offenburg that call themselves „Althistorische Narrenzunft“. Their main figure is the Spättle, a colourful figure covered in little patches of fabric from head to toe, sporting a laughing face. The guild also includes a (mock-)military guard with a miniature cannon, the military brass band, the „Alde“, i. e. Old Offenburg Lady in Biedermeier dress and a painted textile mask, the black Dominos, and a couple of single figures.

They make their grand appearance, marking the end of the street carnival, right after the witches have fed everyone and retreated from the windows. Then the Althistorische march in and assemble for the Funeral of the Fastnacht. First they hand out sweet buns in the shape of a cross to the spectators. Then comes the sad part. The Spättle put on black cloaks and everyone is very very sad while the final speech is done and the jester flag taken down.

A crying Spättle fell into my arms. „Oh, this is sad, the Fasnet is over, this is sooooo sad…“ I had to comfort her, LOL. We figured out together that Easter will come soon, then we’ll all go on our summer holidays, and then it’s already almost Christmas and right after Christmas the next Fasnet season is about to begin, so it is already almost Fasnet again…