Güssing Castle Games
The Güssing Castle Games are part of the cultural offerings of the Burgenland district capital Güssing and are performed every year from the beginning of July to the second half of August. At the same time the Güssing cultural summer takes place. The games are organized by the castle association on the festival meadow at the foot of the castle.
history
The history of the Güssing Castle Games begins in 1950. The historical dramas Iwein the Mighty , Under the Sign of the Crescent , Under the Sign of the Cross , Hussars and Janissaries and Grenzlandschicksal were performed in the seven years between 1950 and 1956. The performances were presented by an amateur ensemble and held in the courtyard at the summer solstice . Organizational problems and shifts in the interests of those responsible led to a temporary end to the castle games.
In 1990, the first state exhibition "The Knights" held at Güssing Castle rekindled interest in the venue. The first performance of the revived Güssinger Burgspiele took place in 1994 with the historical drama "Iwein the Mighty". This piece is a connection to the original castle plays, as it was performed back then. Since then, the games have taken place every summer.
Venues
The castle courtyard of Burg Güssing has not been the venue for the Castle Games since 2006, as the summer theater, an event of the cultural summer, is now performed there. In addition to the loss of the venue, there was also the loss of cultural funding in the same year , which resulted in financial problems. These were resolved by relying on other funding providers , sponsors and collaborations for funding . The castle games have been taking place on the festival meadow at the foot of the castle since 2007.
ensemble
The move from the castle courtyard to the festival meadow was used to encourage more talented young people. In addition to the original ensemble, a youth ensemble was created. Since then, there have been two independent productions, with the youth ensemble performing an accompanying production that matches the respective topic of the main production. Since 1994 both ensembles have had over 400 participants together.
Web links
- Official website of the Burgspiele Güssing: https://www.burgspiele.eu
- Official website of the municipality of Güssing: http://www.guessing.co.at/index.php/kultur-in-der-stadt
- Article on the cultural social community SIMs Kultur Online: http://www.simskultur.net/burgenland/guessing/burgspiele-guessing
- Article by ORF Burgenland: http://burgenland.orf.at/news/stories/2582704
- Financing project for the Burgspiele: https://www.startnext.com/burgspiele
- Website "Güssing, the pearl of southern Burgenland": http://www.guessing.net