Federal wrestling and alpine festival
The Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival ( French Fête fédérale de lutte et des jeux alpestres , Italian Festa federale dei lottatori e degli alpigiani , abbreviated: ESAF ) takes place every three years as a federal festival . The Swiss national sports or national games Schwingen , Hornussen and Steinstoss are practiced, with the focus on the sport of wrestling. Together with the Unspunnen Festival and the Kilchberger Schwinget, it is the most important competition in swinging and stone throwing. It took place for the first time in Biel in 1895 and the city of Zug hosted the festival last in 2019 .
Wrestling king
The winner of the federal , as the festival is generally called, is proclaimed the " king of wrestling ". In the rare event that a wrestler achieves the same number of points as the wrestler king , this wrestler receives the title of " first crowned ". The wrestling king receives the "Muni", a bull , as the living main prize ( living prize ) . The other participants can also choose from donated prizes in a temple of gifts. A wrestler who wins a wreath at a federal , i.e. belongs to the top 15 percent, is referred to as a Swiss and counted among the wrestling elite. Colloquially the best wrestlers are called the bad guys . The bad guys in Switzerland are as well known to a broad section of the population as other sporting giants.
Venues and winners
The various associations of the Federal Wrestling Association are alternately responsible for hosting the Swiss Confederation . These can carry out the federal government within their catchment area . The first official Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival took place in Biel in 1895.
| year | venue | organizer | Wrestling king |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Pratteln | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | |
| 2019 | train | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Schwinger King: Christian Stucki Erstgekrönter: Joel Wicki |
| 2016 | Estavayer-le-Lac | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | Matthias Glarner |
| 2013 | Burgdorf | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Matthias Sempach |
| 2010 | Frauenfeld | Northeast Swiss Wrestling Association | Kilian Wenger |
| 2007 | Aarau | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | Jörg Abderhalden |
| 2004 | Lucerne | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Jörg Abderhalden |
| 2001 | Nyon | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | Arnold Forrer |
| 1998 | Bern | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Jörg Abderhalden |
| 1995 | Chur | Northeast Swiss Wrestling Association | Thomas Sutter |
| 1992 | Olten | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | Silvio Rüfenacht |
| 1989 | Stans | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Schwinger King: Adrian Käser Erstgekrönter: Eugen Hasler |
| 1986 | Manners | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | Harry Knüsel |
| 1983 | Langenthal | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Ernst Schläpfer |
| 1980 | St. Gallen | Northeast Swiss Wrestling Association | Ernst Schläpfer |
| 1977 | Basel | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | Arnold Ehrensberger |
| 1974 | Schwyz | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Ruedi Hunsperger |
| 1972 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | David Roschi |
| 1969 | Biel / Bienne | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Ruedi Hunsperger |
| 1966 | Frauenfeld | Northeast Swiss Wrestling Association | Ruedi Hunsperger |
| 1964 | Aarau | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | Karl Meli |
| 1961 | train | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Karl Meli |
| 1958 | Freiburg | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | Max Widmer |
| 1956 | Tuna | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Eugen Holzherr |
| 1953 | Winterthur | Northeast Swiss Wrestling Association | Walter Flach |
| 1950 | Grenchen | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | No wrestling king First crowned: Walter Haldemann and Peter Vogt |
| 1948 | Lucerne | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Peter Vogt |
| 1945 | Bern | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | No wrestling king First crowned: Willy Lardon and Peter Vogt |
| 1943 | train | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Willy Lardon |
| 1940 | Solothurn | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | Otto Marti, Werner Bürki |
| 1937 | Lausanne | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | Willy Lardon |
| 1934 | Bern | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Werner Bürki |
| 1931 | Zurich | Northeast Swiss Wrestling Association | Hans Roth |
| 1929 | Basel | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | Hans Roth |
| 1926 | Lucerne | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Henri Wernli |
| 1923 | Vevey | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | Karl Thommen |
| 1921 | Bern | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Robert Roth |
| 1919 | Langenthal | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Robert Roth, Gottlieb Salzmann |
| 1911 | Zurich | Northeast Swiss Wrestling Association | Gotthold Wernli |
| 1908 | Neuchâtel | Southwestern Swiss Wrestling Association | Albrecht Schneider |
| 1905 | Interlaken | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Hans Stucki |
| 1902 | Sarnen | Central Swiss Wrestling Association | Hans Stucki |
| 1900 | Bern | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Hans Stucki, Emil Kocher |
| 1898 | Basel | Northwestern Swiss wrestling association | Christian Blaser, Frédéric Bossy |
| 1897 | Biel / Bienne | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Alfons Thurneysen |
| 1895 | Biel / Bienne | Bernese-Cantonal Wrestling Association | Alfred Niklaus |
Individual events
Aarau (2007)
The Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2007 in Aarau lasted three days and was the largest Swiss sporting event of the year. 279 wrestlers and 150 stone pushers took part, plus 450 Hornussers in 20 teams. The stadium, which was built especially for the occasion, held almost 47,000 spectators, and 200,000 visitors came over the three days. The arena built for the Schwingfest was the largest temporary sports stadium in use in Switzerland. The wrestling competitions were broadcast live on Swiss television and the national press reported extensively. Jörg Abderhalden became king of wrestling for the third time .
Frauenfeld (2010)
The "Federal" 2010 took place from August 20th to 22nd in Frauenfeld . Around 250,000 visitors came to Switzerland's largest sporting event, more than expected by the organizers. The "courses" (pairings) in the swing were played again in the temporary arena with a capacity of 47,000 visitors. The competitions took place in three sports: In addition to the swing, for which over 300 participants were registered, competitions were also held in Hornussen and Steinstossen. The wrestling king was Kilian Wenger , who was only twenty at the time .
Burgdorf (2013)
The 2013 Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival took place from August 30 to September 1, 2013 in Burgdorf in the Emmental , Canton of Bern . The festival area covered 70 hectares with 12 festival tents and a long market street. The arena for 52,013 people was the largest temporary arena in the world. 278 wrestlers, 20 Hornusser teams and 121 Steinstösser competed, around 300,000 visitors were guests. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) deployed around 400 extra trains, Busland AG , a subsidiary of BLS AG , 680 extra buses.
The prizes in the temple of gifts had a total value of CHF 800,000, the main prize was a Muni or, alternatively, a uploader worth CHF 20,000. The event's budget was 25 million francs, of which over 10 million came from sponsors. Overall, sales of 80 million francs were expected for the festival.
In the beginning the top fight between the wrestling kings Kilian Wenger and Arnold Forrer ended with a stand (draw). Otherwise the Bernese won mostly their fights. In 2nd gear Wenger lost surprisingly to Martin Koch from Lucerne and thus had no chance of defending his title. Even in 3rd gear, six of the nine leading without defeat were from Bern. Four Schwinger were in the lead in 4th gear, including three from Bern. While Christian Stucki was still ahead of Matthias Sempach in 5th gear , he took the lead in 6th gear, which he expanded in 7th gear. In the final course Christian Stucki and Matthias Sempach faced each other, the latter was able to decide the course for himself and thus became the new king of wrestling.
Estavayer-le-Lac (2016)
The Swiss Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival (Fête fédérale de lutte suisse et des jeux alpestres) 2016 took place from August 26th to 28th at Estavayer-le-Lac on the premises of the neighboring Payerne military airfield . A total of 800 athletes were in action: 280 Schwinger, 120 Steinstösser and 400 Hornusser. The budget for the mega event was CHF 29 million. Around 280,000 people attended the event on the 90 hectare festival site. The stadium had a capacity of 52,016 seats. 240,000 liters of beer and 200,000 liters of water were served and around 60,000 sausages were consumed.
The 30-year-old Matthias Glarner was king of wrestling .
Train (2019)
The ESAF in Zug took place from 23 to 25 August 2019. It was organized by the Central Swiss Wrestling Association. In addition to the planned budget of CHF 35 million, the canton of Zug pledged support of CHF 1.655 million and the lottery fund of CHF 655,000. A large wooden sculpture by the artist Stephan Schmidlin was erected, which was made from a sequoia tree . The 70 hectare festival area in Zug-West has been prepared for the event since 2015. A six-part grandstand was built around the competition site. The “Zug Arena” that was created on the edge of the city center had a capacity of 56,000 spectators and, according to the organizers, was the largest temporary stadium in the world. A record was set with a total of 420,000 festival visitors over the three days.
The king of wrestling was 34-year-old Christian Stucki . Joel Wicki , who was tied on points , was ranked 1b and was first crowned .
Planned and future wrestling and alpine festivals
A site in Pratteln near the historic Hülftenschanz is planned for ESAF 2022 . For the first time in the history of ESAF, the Basel area would be the venue.
Web links
- Website of the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2019 in Zug
- Website of the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2016 in Estavayer-le-Lac
- Website of the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2013 in Burgdorf
- Wrestling kings since the Swiss Wrestling Federation was founded. Swiss Wrestling Association (PDF; 72 kB)
- The final courses since 1958 in the video and All Wrestling Kings since 1895 ( Memento from April 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). In: SF history.
Individual evidence
- ↑ First-time winner on schlussgang.ch , accessed on August 25, 2019.
- ↑ Fabian Christl: The party starts before the festival. In: The Bund . 29th August 2013.
- ↑ The federal government exceeds all expectations. In: Neue Luzerner Zeitung . 2. September 2013.
- ↑ Around 400 special trains for the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival: With public transport to the bad guys. SBB , August 27, 2013 (press release).
- ↑ Roman Seiler: Burgdorf is looking forward to Schwinger and an 80 million dollar deal. In: Aargauer Zeitung . August 28, 2013.
- ↑ Hans Trachsel: The king of the wicked wavers. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . August 31, 2013.
- ↑ ESAF 2nd gear: King Wenger dethroned. In: Final course. August 31, 2013.
- ^ ESAF 3rd gear: Berner continues to advance. In: Final course. August 31, 2013.
- ↑ ESAF 4th gear: four more transducers. In: Final course. August 31, 2013.
- ^ ESAF website 2016 in Estavayer-le-Lac (French) ( Memento from November 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ Estavayer 2016 takes stock. "All of Switzerland came to the festival in Western Switzerland". SRF , February 17, 2017, accessed on August 26, 2019 .
- ^ Website of ESAF 2019 in Zug .
- ^ Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Zug. In: Final course. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ↑ Generous donation . In: Zuger Woche . No. 30, July 25, 2018.
- ↑ The massive pride of the Federal in Zug . In: Zuger Zeitung . No. 141, July 21, 2018.
- ↑ The sculpture. ESAF 2019 website in Zug.
- ↑ The trousers move the masses again. ORF , August 21, 2019, accessed on August 21, 2019.
- ↑ 420,000 visitors made the pilgrimage to Esaf in Zug. In: Lucerne newspaper . August 25, 2019.
- ^ Adrian Hunziker: Stucki becomes king of wrestling at 34. In: Tages-Anzeiger . August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019 .
- ↑ Christian Stucki is king of wrestling! In: srf.ch. August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019 .
- ↑ The Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2022 will definitely take place in Pratteln ( Memento from July 30, 2018 in the Internet Archive ). Basellandschaftlicher Kantonal-Schwingerverband, March 5, 2018, accessed on March 21, 2020.