Öcher Bend

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The ferris wheel and illuminated market stalls
View from the ferris wheel to the Bendplatz
The “Shake” ride is in operation

Öcher Bend is the name of the folk festival that takes place on Aachen's Bendplatz (one also speaks of a fair or fairground ).

The bend takes place twice a year on the 40,000 m² square, once as an "Easter bend" and later in the year as a "summer bend". At the attractions everything is represented from fast rides to children's rides . There are also many restaurants , booths, etc. The bend ends with a large fireworks display , which always takes place in the evening hours of the last bend day (for a long time on Mondays).

Surname

The name Öcher comes from the city name Oche (Aachen) in the local dialect , while Bend in the dialect is the name for a large meadow .

The colloquial Aachen phrase "Then ess evver der Bend op" (then the bend is open) refers to this very event and means something like "Then something is going on" or "Then there will be a treat". With this statement, the speaker expresses that, if a certain situation that he disapproves of occurs, he intends to call those responsible to account and let them feel the consequences of their actions.

history

The Bend was mentioned for the first time in 1413 and has its origin not on today's Bendplatz, but on changing places. At that time the bend was behind the “Cöllerporzen”, the later Kölnmittelor gate , and the “Gashuys”, the old St. Martinsspital on today's Alexanderstraße. The bend took place there for sixty years. When a new spa promenade was laid out at this point in the 17th century, the “stalls”, “sensations and attractions” moved to the Seilgraben, Bergdriesch and Pontdriesch. In 1885 the Bend moved again. First to the “Panneschopp” on Stolberger Strasse, later to Blücherplatz, then to Kapellenplatz in Burtscheid . The first bend took place on Bendplatz in 1927.

Since the Easter bend in 2008, the bend is no longer organized by the city, but by Eurogress . a. expresses itself in a changed arrangement of the attractions on the fairground.

After the downsizing of the Bendplatz had been controversial since 2017 so that the confectionery manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli can expand its neighboring factory, it was announced in February 2020 that almost 9,000 square meters of the 40,000 square meter Bendplatz had been sold to Lindt & Sprüngli. Since the effective usable area is only a good 30,000 square meters, the bend will be reduced by almost a third, which already affects the Easter end of 2020. Correspondingly, the front length of amusement park rides, play shops and catering facilities has been reduced from 1,600 front meters to 1120 front meters, which is also a reduction of almost a third. The Aachen Greens viewed the plans critically, as they wanted to use other alternatives for a factory expansion, but could not prevail as Lindt & Sprüngli threatened to withdraw more than 3,000 jobs from the Aachen location. Managing director Adalbert Lechner told the Aachener Zeitung that “the Lindt Group must look around for alternatives” if the demands are not implemented.

Further use of the space

The area is managed by Eurogress Aachen and, in addition to the annual market, is used for the following major events throughout the year:

  • EUREGIO economic show, 1987–2013, from 2014 on the premises of the CHIO Aachen
  • bonding company contact fair, three days at the end of the year, with 333 companies
  • For the Aachen Christmas market , the square serves as a coach parking lot "Am Bendplatz" with a bus shuttle to the city center (Neupforte)

Web links

Commons : Öcher Bend  - collection of images, videos and audio files

credentials

  1. ^ Aachen.de: History of the Öcher Bend ( Memento of March 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (Source: Festschrift for the 100th anniversary of the Schausteller-Verband eV Aachen)
  2. ↑ Manfred Kutsch: Oecher Bend is privatized. In: AZ-Web (Aachener Zeitung Online). August 16, 2007, archived from the original on September 28, 2007 ; Retrieved August 17, 2007 .
  3. ↑ Less space from Easter - Öcher Bend is getting smaller and less hearty. In: Aachener Zeitung Online. February 25, 2020, accessed March 20, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Stephan Mohne: There will soon be less pizza on the Bend - traditional fair is getting smaller due to Lindt expansion. Gastronomic offer is to be restricted. In: Aachener Zeitung , February 25, 2020, p. 17.
  5. ↑ Article in the local klenkes magazine about the change of location of the EUREGIO economic show , May 16, 2013
  6. ↑ Description of the coach parking lot for the Christmas market on the website of the city of Aachen ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aachen.de

Coordinates: 50 ° 47 ′ 0.9 ″  N , 6 ° 4 ′ 14.6 ″  E