Tree blossom festival
_2005.jpg)
The tree blossom festival is a folk festival that attracts several hundred thousand visitors to Werder (Havel) and its surroundings in just over a week . The tree blossom festival has been taking place around May 1st for many years. The dates will be announced in the press. Although most of this festival takes place in the city itself, the orchards in the area also offer conviviality and exploration through tours.
history
At a board meeting of the Werderaner Obstbau-Verein on March 18, 1879, the representatives decided to implement Wilhelm Wils' idea of announcing the peak of the inflorescence of the fruit trees in all Berlin newspapers. They hoped to attract numerous interested people to the region to take part in this sight, to warm themselves to the beauty of the city and thus to promote the turnover of the local fruit growers. This invitation was enthusiastically accepted by the Berlin population, and so on May 10, 1879 the first special train with guests to visit the tree blossom festival drove. More trains followed in the following days.
Over the years, Werder's Blossom Festival became more and more popular. The citizens of Werder also increasingly participated by selling wine, cake and coffee in their own blooming gardens. In the GDR, the Werderan Tree Blossom Festival was celebrated for the last time in 1979 as a big festival of Werderan citizens. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary, a large parade of the schools, kindergartens, companies and citizens of the city was organized. During the following years, the festival was officially no longer celebrated extensively. Only an agricultural machinery exhibition on Friedrichshöhe and a hype were offered. Rules for the sale of fruit wine were laid down and sales in the gardens and courtyards were completely banned.
Since 1989 the festival has been opened with the tree blossom ball in the Bismarckhöhe ballroom, where the annual blossom queen is chosen. Your job is to represent the city of Werder and its local companies. On the Bismarckhöhe is also the Literature Museum and the Morgenstern Society, which are run by the Freundeskreis Bismarckhöhe e. V. be looked after.
In 1994 the annual Tree Blossom Run was held in the urban forest for the first time and is enjoying increasing popularity. In 1997 there was a parade for the first time since 1979, which was organized by the local schools, clubs, businesses and citizens. The highlight of this annual parade is the accompaniment by the tree blossom queen and the incumbent mayor, who then officially opens the tree blossom festival.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall , the number of visitors, especially from Berlin, rose rapidly and steadily. From around 300,000 visitors in 1993, the number of visitors rose to an average of 500,000 visitors per year today. The peak of around 750,000 visitors reached in 1998, however, largely exhausted the city's capacity to accommodate. As the number of visitors increased, there were more and more tangible disputes and vandalism, so that the city has been trying since 2010 to give the festival a more family-friendly character. From 2020 it was planned to carry out a completely changed and consistently simplified concept of the tree blossom festival. The old town island should remain free from major events and numerous fruit farms should open their gardens for a family-friendly festival Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany , all planned events in 2020 were canceled.
Events
The tree blossom festival is traditionally initiated with the blossom ball, which takes place on the evening before the official opening on the Bismarckhöhe. In the following festive days, numerous bands from the area and national formations played on the stages across Werder. The main stages were on the market on Werderaner island and the nearby regatta course. Also on the Hohen Weg, which leads along the Bismarckhöhe and ends at the Friedrichshöhe, there were small stages and jugglers and open orchards. There were other fairground attractions, food trucks and fruit wine stands spread across the city.
The offerings of the fruit growers and the surrounding communities are by no means limited to the island and the city of Werder. Many plantations and fruit farms in the area also have offers for stays and wine tastings to enjoy the blossoms of the trees. Kremser rides and bus tours through the area provide a good insight into the nature of the region.
In the run-up to the flower festival, the fruit wines submitted by the producers are tasted and rated by a jury consisting of many former flower queens and citizens of the city. As a result of this competition, the best fruit wines are awarded so-called golden, silver and bronze jars .
