Federal festivals
Federal festivals ( Fête Fédérale in French , Festa federale in Italian , Festa federala in Romansh ) are national festivals in Switzerland that played a key role in establishing the will-to-be nation of Switzerland and continue to be important for its cohesion. The joint celebrations express the solidarity of all participants, even though they belong to different linguistic and cultural groups (German, French, Italian and Rhaeto-Romanic cultures).
history
Heinrich Zschokke , the head of the office for national culture in the Helvetic government in Lucerne , suggested the implementation of national festivals around 1799. He had connections to the Helvetic Society , the most important nationwide association which, in the enlightened spirit of the time (society movement), cultivated a friendship that transcended all borders, the development of a national feeling and federal cohesion.
With the French invasion of 1798, the years of French occupation and as a European theater of war, Switzerland experienced its powerlessness and dependence. This humiliation caused no national awakening as in France or Germany and no national high spirits, but the feeling of patriotic togetherness. The forced, centralized Helvetic Republic had thoroughly spoiled the idea of a unified state .
The Unspunnen festivals of 1805 and 1808 are considered to be the forerunners of the federal festivals. After the years of humiliation, the Unspunnen Festival should once again give the Swiss people the opportunity to enjoy the festivities; Swiss fighting games and songs should strengthen their self-esteem and national awareness. The Unspunnenfeste also had a mediating function between the supporters of the Ancien Régime , who tried to strengthen their position again, and the patriots , who tried to save the liberal achievements of the Helvetic Republic.
The first "Federal" took place before the state was founded in 1848. They were important platforms for the formation of the willing nation Switzerland and the introduction of direct democracy : The first Federal Festival was the Federal Shooting Festival in Aarau in 1824 . During the regeneration period , the rifle festivals became a platform for political renewal movements. The first Federal Gymnastics Festival took place in 1832 and the first Federal Singing Festival in 1843 .
Songs and speeches to the "Eidgenössische" often contained calls for political change. Prominent liberals from other cantons received applause. This was not welcomed everywhere. At the Swiss Federal Shooting Festival in Bern in 1830, the cantonal government there caused the organizing committee to impose discreet censorship on songs and speeches. Individual sections reacted to this tutelage and threatened to leave the festival prematurely. The conservative-democratic pastor and folk songwriter Gottlieb Jakob Kuhn complained that the old Swiss style and old Swiss songs were no longer fashionable and closed his song with the refrain “Drum away with the censorship”. Ultimately, the undisturbed course of the event was only possible if the organizers refrained from influencing speeches and singing.
In the second half of the 19th century, other festivals were given a permanent place in the traditional festival culture and the cultivation of federal cohesion. In doing so, the integration of the various languages and denominations was deliberately taken into account: in 1864 the Federal Music Festival , in 1894 the Federal Wrestling Festival and the Federal Pontoon Competition . The Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival was held for the first time in 1895, the Federal Crossbow Festival in 1898, the Federal Hornuss Festival in 1903, the Federal Drum and Whistle Festival in 1908, the Federal Yodelling Festival in 1924 and the Federal Costume Festival in 1931.
Since 1926, the federal field shooting has been held annually with around 150,000 participants across the country on two days each.
organization
The federal festivals are organized by the national or cantonal umbrella organizations of the clubs and associations. Only the Federal Day of Thanksgiving, Repentance and Prayer (from 1796) and the Swiss Federal Day (from 1891) are regulated by the state.
After the pattern of the Federal analogously formed to the federal state structure and the principle of subsidiarity a widespread network of Cantonal and regional association parties, wherein each of the Federal Solid represent the highlight of this stepped solid culture. At the festivals, the eighty to one hundred thousand clubs organized at community level - half of them are sports clubs - can compete peacefully and show the public what achievements and skills they have acquired through years of training and exercises. Half of the residents over fourteen are members of at least one association.
The festivals are held at regular intervals and each time at new festival locations in order to take due account of regional interests, possibilities and the federal structure of the Confederation. Although the cities of the Central Plateau with good transport connections have an advantage, there are also trips to central Switzerland, the Jura and Ticino to include all cantons.
First federal festivals
| year | Federal ... | First venue | organizer | Last feast | Attendees | Visitors | Next party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1805 | Unspunnenfest / Unspunnen-Schwinget | Interlaken | Association of Swiss Traditional Costume and Alpine Shepherds Festival, Unspunnen | 2017 Fest und Schwinget, Interlaken | 4,000 | 90,000 | 2023 Schwinget and 2029 Fest, Interlaken |
| 1824 | Shooting festival | Aarau | Swiss Rifle Association (SSV) | 2015 Raron , Visp | 37,000 | 10,000 | 2020 Lucerne |
| 1832 | Gymnastics festival | Aarau | Swiss Gymnastics Federation (STV) | 2019 Aarau | 69,000 | 200,000 | 2025 Lausanne |
| 1843 | Singing Festival / Singing Festival | Zurich | Federal Singers' Association / Swiss Choir Association (SCV) | 2015 Meiringen | 13,000, 400 choirs | 30,000 | 2022 Gossau (2nd quarter) |
| 1864 | Music festival | Solothurn | Swiss Federal Music Association / Swiss Brass Band Association | 2016 Montreux | 284 music associations | 150,000 | 2021 Interlaken? |
| 1894 | Wrestling and alpine festival | Zurich | Swiss Wrestling Association (ESV) | 2019 train | 276 | 420,000 in three days | 2022 Pratteln |
| 1894 | Pontoon racing | Zurich | Federal Pontoon Federation | 2018 Bremgarten AG | 1,000 | 7,000 | 41st Federal Pontoon Race from June 25th to 27th, 2021 in Aarburg |
| 1898 | Crossbowman Festival | Zurich-Oberstrass | Federal Association of Crossbowmen | 2019 Ringgenberg BE | 1,000 | ? | 2021? |
| 1903 | Hornusser Festival | Heimiswil | Federal Hornusser Association (EHV) | 2018 Walk wrestling | 5,500 | 20,000 | 39th Swiss Hornuss Festival in Bleienbach in August 2021 |
| 1908 | Drum and Pfeifer Festival | Zurich | Swiss Drum and Pfeifer Association (STPV) | 2018 bull | 3,000 | 10,000 | 2022? |
| 1924 | Yodelling Festival | Basel | Federal Yodelling Association | 2017 Brig-Glis | 10,000 | 110,000 | 26.-28. June 2020 Basel |
| 1926 | Field shooting | all cantons | Swiss Rifle Association (SSV) | all of Switzerland annually | 150,000 | - | all of Switzerland annually |
| 1931 | Swiss national costume festival / traditional choir festival since 2001 | Geneva | Swiss National Costume Association | 2016 Lugano traditional choir festival | 2,000 | 75,000 | Swiss Folk Dance Festival 2019 in Langnau im Emmental , Swiss National Costume Festival 2023 in Zurich |
| 1937 | Federal National Gymnastics Days | Neuchâtel | Federal National Gymnastics Federation (ENV) | 2017 Eschenbach LU | 400 | 5,000 | ? |
| 1971 | Ländlermusikfest / folk music festival | Sargans | Association of Swiss Folk Music | 2015 Aarau | 1,500 | 100,000 | 13th Federal Folk Music Festival in Crans-Montana from 19 to 22 September 2019 |
| 1978 | Young musicians meeting | train | Association of Swiss Folk Music | 2017 Baar | 400 | 2021 | |
| 1979 | Federal Scheller and Trycher meeting | Euthal | inviting local group | 2017 Märstetten | 3,000 | 35,000 | 2020 Bremgarten AG |
| 1992 | Federal Women's and Meitlischwing Festival | Aeschi near Spiez | Eidgenössischer Frauenschwingverband EFSV and inviting local group | 2018 Uezwil AG | 126 | 1,100 | September 29, 2019 Menznau |
| 2008 | Young drum and piper festival | Zofingen | Swiss Drum and Pfeifer Association (STPV) | 2018 bull | 25.-27. September 2020 in Aarau |
Web links
- François de Capitani: Federal festivals. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Christian Pfister: National festivals and booms of national excitement as identity-creating events. In: From Goldau to Gondo. Natural disasters as identity-creating events in 19th century Switzerland (PDF; 1.6 MB)
- Southeastern Switzerland on July 7th, 2014: Federal Yodelling Festival - Over 100,000 visitors made the pilgrimage to Landwassertal
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich Zschokke Society: Heinrich Zschokke and the Helvetian Society - a contribution to the emergence of modern Switzerland
- ^ Peter Dürrenmatt: Swiss history. Schweizer Druck- und Verlagshaus AG, Zurich 1963
- ↑ Announcements from 1805 in the Paris Le Moniteur Universel and in the non-profit Swiss news
- ^ The emergence of the democratic people's state 1831-1880 in the canton of Bern ( Memento of July 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Unspunnen-Schwinget
- ↑ Unspunnenfest
- ↑ Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival Aarau 2019
- ↑ 41st Swiss pontoon races in Aarburg
- ↑ Homepage EHF 2021
- ↑ Swiss Drum and Piper Association
- ↑ 31st Federal Yodelling Festival, Basel
- ↑ 14th Federal Scheller and Trycher Meeting
- ↑ Eidgenössischer Frauenschwingverband EFSV