Donkey from Wesel
The Wesel donkey is the symbolic animal of the city of Wesel with multiple uses in local art and culture. These include numerous life-size painted donkey figures in the city, awarded annually in Wesel Donkey Medal and the ass rock festival.
Historical background
The donkey as a symbol of the city of Wesel goes back to the final rhyme between the word donkey and the city name. The folk song researcher Anton Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio documented the diatribe “What is the name of the mayor of Wesel? Donkey. ”This is considered to be one of the first known uses of this saying, which still occurs today. According to a travel report from 1819, the saying was originally used as an Echoruf on Rhine shipping and did not refer to the Wesel on the Lower Rhine, but to the town of Oberwesel in the Middle Rhine Valley . In the meantime, however, it is mainly associated with the city of Wesel.
The saying was mentioned several times in national media. In 1992 he appeared as Echoruf in the ZDF series White and Blue Stories . The saying also appeared in the 2001 film Der Schuh des Manitu . The saying is also widespread in the Dutch-speaking area ("Hoe heet de burgemeester van Wezel? Ezel."). This is possible because the Dutch word Ezel for donkey also rhymes with the city name due to the voiced “z”.
The heraldic animal of the city of Wesel is the weasel , for which there is also a similarity to the city name. Three silver weasels are depicted on the city arms.
Use as a symbol animal
Works of art
In September 1994, a bronze donkey created by the artist Bonifatius Stirnberg was set up on Berliner-Tor-Platz . In 2006 city marketing began an initiative to manufacture plastic donkeys for public spaces. On April 1, 2007, 111 painted copies were placed in the entire city area and occasionally beyond Wesel. The donkeys, some in private and some in public, cost 480 euros as blanks and are each 1.50 meters high. The action was continued permanently. Around 300 life-size donkey figures had been made by 2016. In addition to the works of art in public spaces, the donkey is also used for local merchandising products. These include plastic blanks in a significantly smaller size.
Cultural events
Since 1972, the umbrella organization of the Wesel carnival clubs, the Carnevals Committee Wesel, has awarded the so-called donkey medals every year. It is intended to honor people who have the courage to make a “decision that is not an everyday occurrence” or who have rendered special services to the city of Wesel. The winners include a number of well-known personalities, for example Dieter Nuhr , Jan Hofer and Guildo Horn .
Since 2008 the EselRock music festival has been held every spring in Wesel’s Heubergpark . The festival has over 10,000 visitors each.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The donkey from Wesel . derwesten.de
- ↑ A trip to Switzerland (continued) Fourteenth report. Water ride. Newspaper for the Elegant World , January 26, 1819, p. 148
- ↑ Wesel's largest donkey advertisement (rp-online.de)
- ↑ Het mysterie van het Echobosbosbos ... (onh.nl)
- ^ Evert van Ginkel: Echo's uit de IJzertijd: Een grafheuveltweeling bij Apeldoorn , Sidestone Press 2014, p. 5
- ↑ Donkey monuments in Germany. les-murtes.jimdo.com
- ↑ 100 donkeys for Wesel . rp-online.de
- ^ Art campaign: 111 donkeys for Wesel . rp-online.de
- ↑ Weseler Esel - photo exhibition. wesel775.de
- ↑ a b tourism concept for the city of Wesel (PDF) weselmarketing.de
- ↑ Donkey order bearer . wesel.de
- ↑ Johannes Kruck: Pop star Guildo Horn likes to be a Wesel donkey. NRZ, February 11, 2018, accessed on February 12, 2018 .