German-French folk festival
The Franco-German Volksfest was a festival that took place every year in June / July in Berlin from 1963 to 2016 and traditionally ended on or shortly after July 14th, the French national holiday . The venue was the Central Festplatz Berlin in the Berlin district of Wedding on the 111 federal motorway . Before the fairground was inaugurated in 2000, the folk festival took place in the Reinickendorf district on the opposite side of the city motorway.
Emergence
The Franco-German Volksfest was one of the results of the division of Berlin into four sectors after the Second World War . The former French sector comprised the districts of Wedding and Reinickendorf at that time and the French armed forces were stationed in the barracks, which were then known as “ Quartier Napoléon ”, until they withdrew in 1994. The district officials and the leadership of the French troops had looked for ways to bring the occupiers and Berliners closer together. Following the example of the German-American folk festival founded in 1961, an event lasting several days was organized for the first time in 1963 in what was then Reinickendorf. An easily accessible place near Tegel Airport and in the immediate vicinity of the French barracks was chosen as the location .
Events and assessment of the folk festival
According to the organizers, the Franco-German Volksfest was the largest folk festival in Berlin, where there are classic festival elements such as rides , performances by musicians and stalls. In addition, a French village was set up in which the special character of a village, a city, a region or all of France is represented in the form of backdrops. Culinary specialties from France and in particular from the respective region - for example crêpes or wines - were offered.
Particular highlights were fireworks that were shown on various dates and, among other things, on the French national holiday .
After 1995, and especially after the move to the central fairground in 2000, the festival had clearly lost in size, based on the rides and the size of the French village.
In 2017 the Franco-German Volksfest was renamed the Berliner Volksfestsommer . This broke the 54-year-old tradition and a new folk festival with free entry was created to replace it.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christian Schindler: End and beginning: Franco-German folk festival is festival summer. In: Berliner Woche , June 23, 2017, accessed on July 7, 2018