Bathing trip
The Badenfahrt is a festival in Baden that lasts several days and usually takes place every ten years. The Badenfahrt counted more than a million visitors at the most recent events, making it one of the largest festivals in Switzerland and by far the largest in the canton of Aargau . The Federal Office of Culture has included the Badenfahrt on the list of living traditions in Switzerland since July 2017 . The festival is thus part of the country's intangible cultural heritage. Sometimes there is a city festival five years before or after a Badenfahrt, which is popularly known as the “little Badenfahrt”. In 2012, a city festival took place from August 17th to 26th under the motto "Layers of stories", which also commemorated the destruction of Stein Castle 300 years earlier.
The last Badenfahrt took place from 18 to 27 August 2017 under the motto Versus and, according to the organizers, set a record number of visitors with around 1.2 million visitors.
The party
The festival area extends over the entire old town and also includes areas around the train station. The 100 or so “Festbeizen” are an essential part: restaurants, bars and other attractions, most of which are organized and run by associations in the region. These are not ordinary beer tents, but individual creations in which a lot of imagination, but often also the skills of architects, civil engineers and craftsmen among the club members is invested. In 2007, for example, a Moulin Rouge , a French Quarter , a Greek temple, a bamboo temple, a Sing Sing and a monastery were built for “World instead of Baden” .
There are also numerous cultural events, such as B. theater performances or open air concerts with well-known bands and musicians. In the past, parades were carried out on the two festival Sundays, where all the clubs involved in the Badenfahrt presented themselves. In 2017, for the first time and at the request of many clubs, the parades, which were one of the highlights of the Badenfahrt along with the final fireworks, were dispensed with.
Historical background
The term "Badenfahrt" was coined in the Middle Ages, when the town of Baden was a popular travel destination for secular and spiritual dignitaries because of its hot thermal springs and the diversions associated with them. In particular, Baden's status as the most important meeting place of the federal assembly contributed to this. After the Reformation , many citizens of Zurich also went to Baden, which had remained Catholic, in order to evade the strict Zwinglian moral codes for a time. In better circles it was quite common to go to Baden for a cure and to look around or to show oneself at the marriage market . Writers like David Hess , Niklaus Manuel and Thomas Murner referred to Badenfahrten. The " Spanish-Brötli-Bahn ", the first railway on Swiss soil, also promoted bathing tourism from 1847 onwards.
The first public festival called Badenfahrt took place in 1923 and commemorated the peace congress of 1714, at which European envoys negotiated the Peace of Baden , which contributed to the end of the War of the Spanish Succession . The first "big" Badenfahrt was carried out in 1937. The celebration of 1947 was under the sign of the centenary of the Swiss railways, whereby the SBB determined Baden as the official place of celebration. The festival planned for 1957 was canceled due to the extensive traffic redevelopment. The tradition was continued in 1967. Since 1972 and 1982 so-called “small” bathing trips have taken place 5 years after the Badenfahrt.
chronology
| year | motto | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | "The European Peace Congress" | Fundraising was carried out to raise money for the theater foundation. |
| 1937 | "Through the Ages" | For the 90th anniversary of the Spanish Brötli Railway, the “Baden drivers” revived the Biedermeier era. |
| 1947 | «Carrying, towing, driving» | For the 100th anniversary, the festival visitors were transported back to the glory days of the city of Baden in historical costumes. |
| 1957 | The Badenfahrt was canceled due to major renovation work, particularly in the area of the Schulhausplatz intersection and the train station. | |
| 1967 | "Wheels make people" | Integration and community development should be promoted through the festival. |
| 1972 | "125 Years of the Spanish Bread Roll" | Since the anniversary fell out of the ten-year interval, this festival was called the "little" Badenfahrt. |
| 1977 | "Water" | |
| 1982 | "Illusions" | |
| 1987 | «Bathing departure» | |
| 1991 | "Swiss made" | |
| 1997 | "La Badenfahrt" | |
| 2007 | "World instead of bathing" | The five festival districts again had their respective sub-mottos: "Old World / New World", "Worlds of Gods / Mythologies", "Underworld / Demi-world", "Glamor and glittering world, play worlds", "Water world / island worlds / South Sea dreams" |
| 2012 | «Stories layers» | The 2012 city festival commemorates the razing of Stein Castle after Baden's surrender in the Second Villmerger War and is also referred to as the “little” Badenfahrt. |
| 2017 | «Versus» | The 6 festival areas contrasted with each other: «North vs. South »,« Above vs. Down "and" Alt vs. New" |
organization
The Badenfahrt is organized by a private association, the "Badenfahrt- Komitee ". In terms of personnel, this is largely staffed by local Baden politicians and public service providers. This superordinate committee determines the general structures of the festival, such as motto, parade, fireworks, infrastructure, opening times, public events, etc. In the area of infrastructure, important and central services are organized and commissioned centrally. This includes, in particular, waste management, electricity and water supply, allocation of space and regulation of assembly and dismantling.
The actual festivities, which are run by associations and partly by municipalities or companies, are again organized independently, each with its own OC. The framework conditions, which are specified by the committee, leave a lot of leeway. It is therefore up to each organizer to work out a budget, draw up a concept for the operation, plan and implement buildings, organize helpers, etc.
swell
- David Hess [the younger], Alex Spichale (illustrator): Badenfahrt . The book for it. Baden-Verlag, Baden AG [o. J.], ISBN 3-85545-106-0 , David Hess the Younger has recorded the history of the Badenfahrt in his book and reviews “La Badenfahrt” again in 1997.
- Roman Huber: That's why you go to Baden. In: Welt statt Baden (Badenfahrt 2007 magazine).
Web links
- Stock: Badenfahrt. City Archives Baden AG . from 1923. Signature: V.06. link
- Badenfahrt website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Badenfahrt is now officially part of the cultural heritage . In: az Badener Tagblatt . June 30, 2017 ( badenertagblatt.ch [accessed September 26, 2017]).
- ↑ They're crazy, the people of Baden! in the Tages-Anzeiger on August 18, 2012
- ↑ 1.2 million people visit the Badenfahrt: “Absolutely unique” in the Aargauer Zeitung on August 28, 2017