Biewerumer crush notch
The Biewerumer Quetschekerb is a festival that has been celebrated annually for more than 137 years over four days on the first weekend in September in Sankt Goar - Biebernheim (coll. Biewerum ).
Central figures of this fair (coll. Notch ) are the Quetschehannes , a large, heavy straw doll with tails, cylinder, white trousers, black boots and a cigar in his mouth, the Kerwe bouquet decorated, a fortified at a long wooden pole pine wreath with colorful ribbons and Kerw President . A traditional piece of music when moving, in the marquee and having a morning pint is the Kerwemarsch , actually the march of the volunteer hunters from the Wars of Liberation (1813).
history
The Biewerumer Quetschekerb probably arose from a harvest festival, to which the farmers had to deliver "the tithe" of their harvest. H. the timing of the curb did not depend on a patronage or parish festival. The feudal lords at that time determined what the farmers had to give up (corn, potatoes, apples or plums). Agreement was reached well over the years on plums (coll. Quetsche , hence the name of the score comes) and set the date to the maturity period of plums. The delivery took place as part of a pageant, which was preceded by a bouquet decorated with grain and fruit. Today the current Kerwestrauss is a reminder of this tradition and also of the peculiarity that it is not fixed in the center of the village, but is carried with you when you move . One of the young people was designated as the speaker to convey greetings and good wishes. Today the Kerw President takes this position. As a reward, the feudal lord donated wine and schnapps, which were consumed during a festival.
The traditional morning pint takes place on the Wackenberg , a tree-lined meadow above the Rhine Valley. The morning pint arose from the promise of some boys from Biebernheim to serenade their girls who live on the other side of the Rhine in St. Goarshausen. This is easily possible from the Wackenberg. So the boys moved to the Wackenberg with music and drinks and kept their promise. Since they probably liked it there very much, the morning pint was celebrated there in the future.
The main character, the Quetschehannes , was created just over 125 years ago (he celebrated his 125th birthday in 2007). According to the story, a traveling dealer named Hannes or Johannes from the Hunsrück came to the village at the time of the fair and sold sweets. These were something special back then and very popular as gifts from boys for their girls. He probably put his winnings in wine and / or beer and partied quite happily. So it happened that the youth took him on their shoulders and carried him through the village. When he died in 1882, the youth mourned the event violently. The widow Berz, who was the innkeeper at the Wilbert inn at the time , advised the youngsters to simply build a Hannes for themselves, which was then done in the form of a straw doll and continues to this day. This large and heavy straw doll is dressed in tailcoat, top hat, white shirt, white trousers and boots and has the obligatory cigar in her mouth.
Hannes is picked up on the festival Sunday as part of the parade with music at the home of the fair president (... in the place where he was born ... as it is called in the fair song) and then carried through the village. In the marquee and during the morning pint, it is attached to a raised place so that it can keep an eye on “its” community. On Monday evening he is brought back to the place where he originated and killed. On Tuesday, people used to turn their innards (straw, hay) through a “windmill” (actually separates the wheat from the chaff) on a moving cart and distributed them on the streets of the town.
Involved
The Quetschehannes is the main character and patron of the curb, also known as the “plum patron” in old newspaper advertisements. The kerwestrauss is a wreath of fir trees attached to a long wooden pole, decorated with colorful ribbons ( kerwebs ). The candle ribbons often fall off when the ostrich is stamped to the sounds of the Kerwemarsch and are very popular as souvenirs of the squeeze notch among young and old.
The Kerwe youth
Sugar at the Strauss youth
These young people at the age of 16 are allowed to watch and learn at Straussbau so that they can do so in the following year. But you are not allowed to go to the Hannesbude.
Ostrich youth
These are the young people at the age of 17. These meet from mid / end of July in a barn, garage or cellar (the "bouquet stall") and "build" the bouquet together. This includes tying the bouquet, cutting, punching and tying the paper ribbons made of glossy paper and attaching them to the bouquet. The log is also wrapped with colored ribbons. During the fair they carry the bouquet (hard work) and stamp it when the "Kerwemarsch" sounds. You can recognize them by the plain-colored T-shirts with a corresponding bouquet print and year. The color of the shirts for Hannes and Strauss youth and the ribbons on the bouquet are redefined every year. Even the Strauss youth are not yet allowed into the Hannesbude.
Dropouts
These are formally part of the youth fair, but without a task. They wear gray shirts during the fair.
Zugucker at the Hannes youth
At the age of 19 you become a "Zugucker" at Hannes, d. H. you can enter the Hannesbude and watch the Hannesbau.
Hannes Youth
At the age of 20 you are in the Hannes Youth. This also requires a barn or garage or a cellar as a "Hannesbude". You are responsible for making the “squeeze bar”. Younger people are not allowed in the Hannesbude. The Hannesjugend also wears plain-colored shirts with Hannes imprinted and the year.
The Kerw President
The Hannes youth selected on Saturday the weekend before the fair (coll. Besäufnis or notch antrinken called) from its ranks the fair president. He carries Hannes when moving and directs the fate of the fair. He alone is also responsible for calling the fair slogan. In 2001 a fair president was “in power” for the first time. To be elected Kerw President is a high honor because - in contrast to politics - you can only become one in your life.
The former presidents
You can recognize this by the blue polo shirt on which the year of your presidency and, if applicable, your nickname are printed.
The fair or kerwewirt
The two landlords of the Biebernheim district took turns in aligning the squeeze notches. After the closure of the "Zur Linde" inn, the landlord of the country inn "Zum Rebstock" is responsible for the squeeze notch.
The Kerwebibel
Very early on it became common practice to write down incidents, gossip and gossip during the curb in a thick book (the Kerwebibel ) (therefore some very old copies still exist). This takes the form of an indictment: there is an indictment, a defense and a verdict concerning the Quetschehannes. Since Hannes is formally accused of being to blame that z. B. the beer was too warm and maybe the prices for drinks were too high. In his defense z. B. stated that he ensured fun and good weather during the curb. However, the verdict is always “guilty”.
The incidents of the current curb are written down on Tuesdays in the Backes (the Biebernheimer Backhaus) by the Hannes youth and read out publicly in the evening before the crusher is burned at the stake.
The stamping and ornament plate
For the 125th birthday of Quetschehannes in 2007, "An der Bach" (our village square) a tamping plate and an ornamental plate made of metal were embedded in the floor. The purpose of the tamping plate is to prevent damage to the pavement caused by the violent pounding of the kerwest (as has often happened in the past).
The sequence
From mid / end of July: the stalls
As already mentioned, young people meet in the booths from mid / end of July to finish the bouquet and the Hannes.
A weekend before the curb
On Saturdays, the Kerwe youth gather in the stalls. In the Hannesbude, the Hannesjugend elects the Kerwepresident from their ranks in a highly democratic process and with the help of beer or wine. Once this election has been completed, the new Kerw President will be announced loudly regardless of the hour that has passed, and will be carried on their shoulders through the village to the Straussbude, where the celebrations will take place.
On the Friday before the curb: the curb drink
The Kerwe youth gathers in the booths and enjoys the u. a. Beer donated by the Kerwewirt and possibly also by other people.
On Saturday morning: the Festkommers
On the Saturday of the fair weekend, the Festkommers will take place in the festival tent with music and dance from 8 p.m. This is opened by handing over the "office of president" from the old to the new Kerw president. A special event is “the first Kerve march for the curb” at midnight. In the tent, however, there is only the bouquet, as Hannes only enters the stage on Sundays.
Fair Sunday
Sunday begins with a wreath-laying ceremony for the youth at the cenotaph. Since the 125th birthday of the Quetschehannes in 2007, it has become common practice that afterwards an ecumenical service takes place in the marquee and afterwards the morning pint is enjoyed. The big parade through Biebernheim with a band begins at 3 p.m. The first way leads to the house of the Kerw President, from where the Quetschehannes is picked up "... in the place where he was born ...". Then the procession leads through the village and as soon as the Kerwemarsch sounds, the ostrich youth stamps the ostrich and Hannes dances around the ostrich on the shoulders of the Kerw president in the ranks of the Kerwe youth. The parade ends in the marquee, where coffee and squeeze cake and maybe even one or the other alcoholic drink will find its buyers. Hannes is tied to a raised place there so that he can keep an eye on his community. In the evening there is music and dancing again in the marquee, with the musicians often playing the Kerwemarsch. This is the sign for the Kerwe youth to appear on the dance floor with Hannes and Strauss amid much cheers. At midnight, Hannes and the bouquet are "brought to sleep". The end of this evening, like Saturday, often extends into the early morning hours of the following day.
On Kerwem Monday during the day: the traditional morning pint
On the Monday of the fair, the traditional morning pint takes place on the Wackenberg - a large meadow with trees and an intoxicating view into and over the Rhine Valley. This is where the young people from the fair (Stauß and Hannes youth have separate seats) and locals as well as guests in groups and small groups sitting on bales of straw for draft beer and sausage or steaks from the Kerwirt's grill and enjoy the day. There is also music, and so only bad weather can spoil the day (if it rains on Mondays, the morning pint takes place in the marquee). Playing the Kerwemarsch is obligatory for the musicians - with the accompanying dancing of the Kerwe youth with Strauss and Hannes. On this day there is also a lot of “baptism”, that is, fair boys and girls who have not yet been baptized as well as “normal” guests are placed under a beer barrel to drink (of course something goes by) and then with straw in a shirt and if necessary Pants "stuffed". The morning pint usually ends around 5 p.m. (there are exceptions here, too, which can make it into the next day), after which you either go home again or go straight to the marquee.
On Kerwen Monday evening: dance and mourning in the marquee
From 8 p.m. there will be music and dancing again in the marquee. Around 10 p.m. Hannes is carried out of the tent to the place where he was born and killed ("roped" - coll. For "plucking", "destroying"). The same fate befell the bouquet in the tent. The light in the tent is switched off around midnight, and amid funeral music and complaints , the kerwee youth, wrapped in white cloths and carrying the wretched remains of the squeeze, march into the tent and announce “De Hannes is dod” (Hannes is dead). The Kerw president wears the top hat and the tailcoat of the squeeze man. Then the last Kerwemarsch the Quetschekerb for this year sounds.
Kerwed Tuesday
On this day the Kerwe youth goes through the village and collects eggs. These are then processed into scrambled eggs with bacon at the Kerwewirt, and each guest receives a free portion. The Hannesjugend has been writing the Kerwebibel since the morning - a book in which the events of the curb are written down in the form of an indictment, defense and the subsequent verdict on Quetschehannes. The writing of the Bible lasts until late in the evening with the aid of beer and wine. Afterwards, the Kerwe youth wailed with the population in a funeral march to a place outside of Biebernheim, where the stake for the Quetschehannes (or what was left of him) was set up. Here the Kerw President reads the Kerw Bible and after proclaiming the words “Flame up!” The pyre is lit. This is the official end of the crush notch.
Charly curb
In the 1950s and 60s, in addition to the three restaurants in town, there was one in the Uhlenhorst resettlement, just outside of Biebernheim. The owner was called Karl Kleinfeld (called Charly). Here they met again to “follow up” the curb with reading the Bible, eating meatballs and drinking beer. This tradition has continued to this day, although it is not an “official” afterthought.
Music, tradition and customs
music
Kerwelied, text: Arnold Weber 1947
The Kerw President of 1947, Arnold Weber, gave the youth a specially composed Kerwel song Who made the world so beautiful, who came up with the squeeze .
//: Who made the world so beautiful, who came up with the squeeze notch: //
//: Already on Saturday evening at half past seven, the Festkommers is made: //
//: And on Sunday afternoon at three, the whole thing flows People come: //
//: the pageant starts at “Berze”
, everyone is cheering, young and old: // //: With music we go into the village, with a bottle of wine in every hand: //
//: the youth sings and laughs and hoots, Hannes is now being picked up: //
//: Then everyone moves to the place where he was born this year: //
everyone has a quick drink, and everyone laughs and screams and sings :
(a melody change follows)
You don't see he comes , he takes long steps, you don't see that, the drunk son-in-law.
(again after the first melody)
//: Hannes is now on the throne, because he is the main character today: //
//: he waves with his white hand, the youth are from the edge and ribbon: //
//: He proudly moves into the village inside, and everything follows him: //
//: he is carried by two men, everyone laughs and is amazed at him: //
//: And on the big fairground, every guy quickly has a treasure: //
/ /: The nice little girls, they'll sing the rhyme with us today: //
(a melody change follows)
Always flowing, always flowing, always flowing into the Salvation Army Another
soul saved from alcohol, another soul freed from alcohol.
(The passages between //: and: // are repeated in each case)
Recently, a lyrically "repurposed" version of the hit by Bläck Föös (M'r losse de Dom in Kölle) has been sung in the form of "Mer losse de Hannes in Biewerum".
Kerweruf
After the Kerwemarsch has sounded, the following call is given, alternating between the Kerwe President and the Kerwe youth:
Kerw President: Who's the Curb? (Who is the score?)
Kerwejugend: Oos! (us!)
Kerw President: Who hot se? (Who has it?)
Kerwejugend: Mer! (we!)
Kerw President: Who is it? (who is / belongs to?)
Kerwejugend: Oos! (us!)
Kerw President: Who saponified it? (who drowns them?)
Kerwejugend: Mer! (we!)
Kerw President: Who pays them? (who pays them?)
Kerwejugend: De Berz! (Note: The name of the current Kerwewirt is mentioned here)
Tradition / customs
Over the years, the Quetschekerb's traditions and customs have also been adapted to current events and the way of life, have been changed or have been omitted altogether.
In the run-up to the squeeze notch at the stalls, it was not permitted to bring strangers into the shop. Even the friend of a Kerw boy or a Kerw girl had to stay outside if they were from another place or not old enough. Later this rule could be circumvented by donating a case of beer. Today this is handled a little more loosely.
The curb used to start with the Festkommers, which was not held with music in the marquee, but at the Kerwewirt. There the Kerw president was elected and the Hannesstumpen - the cigar that Hannes has in his mouth - was smoked. On Sunday evenings the Kerwe youth picked up the St. Goar guests at the memorial with music and when they arrived at the tent, “Die Sangewerer senn do” was played (the St. Goarers are there).
Monday saw the biggest changes. It used to be common for traders and business owners in St. Goar and Biebernheim to keep their shops closed. The kids at the fair went to school in the morning to “get the children free” and afterwards they went to the Wackenberg for a morning pint at around 10 o'clock. This ended at 1 p.m. Then Hannes, Strauss and music went to the village to serenade the mayor, the teachers and the landlords. Then there was another parade like on Sunday, which ended in the marquee with dance and music.
On Tuesdays the Kerweb boys washed their empty wallets under the pump “An der Bach” (the name of the village square) and ate lunch together at the Kerwewirt. In the afternoon, the remains of Hannes (straw and hay) were turned by a " windmill " attached to a wagon and thus (to the chagrin of some residents) distributed on the streets of the village. Explanation: The windmill is a hand-operated wind turbine located in a housing, the air flow of which was used to separate the threshed grains from the lighter chaff - here it was not intended for use. This tradition was put to sleep for reasons of street cleanliness. To write the Kerwebibel, people withdrew from the Kerwewirt, boarded up all the windows and doors except for one (at that time they were still made of wood, is only bad with today's windows) and wrote the Bible. Not common today for structural reasons.
On the Sunday after the curb there was even an afterthought with music and dance until the 1950s.
