Carnival in Liechtenstein

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The carnival enjoys a special status in Liechtenstein , even if the "fifth season" is a relatively young phenomenon in the principality. Sources report on the first carnival events at the beginning of the 20th century. The carnival stronghold is the municipality of Schaan .

history

Even if there had been carnival events for a long time, the organized Liechtenstein carnival came into being with the introduction of the Schaan carnival procession in 1952. The organizer was the football club, which expected a contribution to the club's treasury. Around two dozen men were involved, who split up into two football teams: the "Kenya Niggers" in white dress and with their faces painted black, and the "Hollywood Stars" in colorful dresses and short skirts. They pulled on wagons from the village to the football field, where a football game was being played. In the years from 1953 to 1956 there were no relocations.

In 1957 three carnival floats rolled through the village again; the organization was again up to the football club. In the fall of 1957, responsibility for organizing the carnival parade was transferred to the association cartel, an amalgamation of all Schaan local associations. A separate carnival committee was formed to organize the move in the future. Incidentally, when moving in 1958, an entry fee of 1 franc was charged for the first time.

As a result, the Schaan carnival parade got smaller and smaller. The decline was stopped by an appeal by the carnival committee to the Schaan clubs. In 1964 the foot and mouth disease broke out in Triesenberg; To prevent further spread, the government banned the carnival parade. In 1965, however, the carnival could be celebrated. The move was bigger than ever and was recorded on Swiss television. Other carnival events took place around the Schaan parade.

Since 1966, the newly founded fool's guild has been responsible for organizing the move. 28 groups take part in the parade under the motto “Schaaner Fasnacht maximal”. In 1977 the 25th anniversary of the Schaaner Fasnacht was celebrated. Despite the strong foehn storm, the move attracted around 15,000 spectators.

In the eighties, the parade grew bigger and bigger: foreign Guggenmusiken provided musical variety, carnival guilds from abroad animated the scene, but also traditional carnival groups from Schaan and other communities brought life to the train, which often comprised more than 70 groups. In January 1991 war broke out in the Gulf region after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait . All carnival events were canceled out of solidarity with the victims of the war and their families. It would have been the 25th anniversary of the guild of fools.

Events

In addition to the Schaaner parade, there are numerous other events in Liechtenstein during the carnival season.

Removals

The Schaaner carnival parade is the largest parade in the region with tens of thousands of spectators and an integral part of the regional carnival. It takes place on Carnival Sunday. In addition, the parades in Mauren and Triesenberg and the children's parade in Vaduz are particularly popular.

Monster concerts

In 1976 the first monster concert took place in Schaan on Carnival Saturday on the square in front of St. Peter's Church, in which around 300 Guggen musicians took part. It was the beginning of a new tradition with which the population was attuned to the traditional carnival Sunday parade. Since 1991 the monster concert has been held on Lindenplatz. The monster concert on Carnival Saturday became a well-known and popular event in the region. In the last few years it has been attended by around 10,000 people. Further monster concerts take place in Vaduz , Eschen , Malbun and Balzers .

Beizen and street carnival

In 1990, the Schaan Center between St. Peter and Lindenplatz was closed to traffic for the first time from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. That was the beginning of the now traditional street carnival. Today the street carnival begins on the dirty Thursday and ends in the night on Ash Wednesday. The curfew is lifted on these nights.

The Trüble restaurant in Schaan, which was decorated according to the motto of the Gugga music Plunderhüüsler, was particularly popular. Since spring 2007 the Trüble has not been leased due to its dilapidated condition and will therefore no longer be open in the future. In recent years, it has developed into a carnival sport to sit in the same place in the turbulence for as long as possible without standing up in between. Due to this fact, it is to be expected that from 2008 the carnival events will concentrate more on the village center of Schaan between Lindenplatz and Restaurant Rössle.

Other meeting points in Liechtenstein are the legendary Gitzihöll pub in Malbun, the Freiendorf restaurant in Mauren and the Kreuz restaurant in Schellenberg.

Carnival opening and key handover

In many parishes, the town hall key is handed over to the guild of fools or the prince couple at the beginning of the little carnival on November 11th at 11.11 a.m. This handover is usually celebrated with gugga music performances and the first carnival parties.

Balls

While Schaan is the stronghold of the street carnival, the Törmleparty in Vaduz, the scout ball in Balzers and the Gigox in Triesenberg are the most popular carnival balls. The Crazyball, organized by FC Vaduz, also has many visitors. There are special masked balls for children.

Gugga music

The first gugga music existed in Liechtenstein as early as the 1950s. These loose connections usually dissolved again after a few years. The first gugga music, which still exists today, was created in 1970. In Schaan, some young people, equipped with old instruments of harmony music or other noisy instruments, joined forces to form "Schaaner gugga music". The first public appearances took place in the inns in Schaan. The first participation in the Schaaner procession took place in 1972. In 1976 the group was given the new name Röfischrenzer. In 2003 the Gugga Music Röfischrenzer was given a great honor by Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein. They were given the title of Princely Gugga Music Röfischrenzer Schaan . Since 2006 the colors of the Princely House - red / gold have also adorned the Röfischrenzer flag. There have been numerous appearances abroad in recent years. The Röfischrenzer have been a member of the Foolish European Community and the Federation of European Fools for several years.

The Liechtenstein Guggamusiken are organized in the Liechtenstein Guggamusikverband. In contrast to many gugga musicians abroad, the clothes of the Liechtenstein gugga musicians change annually. Further Gugga music are: Plunderhüüsler Schaan (1972), Törmleguger Vaduz (1974), Moschtgügeler Triesen (1976), Wildmandligugga Triesenberg (1980), Tuarbaguger Eschen (1982), Pföhrassler Balzers (1989), Ratatätsch Schaan (1998) and the Gitzifäger Nendeln ( 2002). The Guggamusik Ratatätsch emerged from a rhythm course for the disabled. The association aims to make a contribution to the social integration of people with disabilities and to offer them the opportunity to actively participate in the carnival.

Customs

In addition to the normal carnival customs of the region, of which the ruassla and roast stealing as well as the collecting of carnival plaques were carried out with enthusiasm in Liechtenstein, some special customs have developed.

Carnival newspapers

Various groups publish small newspapers during the carnival season that humorously comment on the annual events in the community. Often, however, the humor in the carnival newspapers is only revealed to local readers who can understand the hidden allusions. The Eselstuhl was the first carnival newspaper to appear in Schaan in 1922. Other carnival newspapers are Wingertesel ( Schaan ), Residenzler ( Vaduz ), Provinzler ( Eschen ), Jux ( Ruggell ), Räbahobel (Mauren), Wildmandli ( Triesenberg ), Tresner Moscht Press ( Triesen ) and the Buschneger ( Gamprin , discontinued in 2002). Since 2008 the Liechtenstein daily newspaper, the "Liechtensteiner Vaterland" has published a carnival edition under the title "Liechtensteiner Fasnachtsland".

Malbun municipal council elections

Malbun is a settlement in a high valley in the Liechtenstein mountains. While the settlement is politically part of Vaduz and Triesenberg, a local council is elected during Carnival. Twenty unsolicited candidates must each stand for election. The election campaign program is limited to the dispensing of high-proof beverages. It is the task of the municipal council to ensure peace and order during the term of office.

Trivia

The Schaaner carnival call "Allweg Kwösso" (for example: Certainly on all roads) is said to have been the answer from a Schaaner to the question of where the Rössle restaurant was going. The call is reminiscent of the saying: "All roads lead to Rome".

Rumor has it that the carnival in Liechtenstein is also attributed to the invention of the Flying Hirsch , an alcoholic mixed drink made from Red Bull and Jägermeister . Other sources report that the drink was invented in an Austrian ski resort. Nevertheless, Liechtenstein youths have been dressing up as flying deer during Carnival for many years.

In Liechtenstein National Museum , a permanent exhibition of the Liechtenstein Carnival is dedicated. Temporary exhibitions on the subject were also shown in other Liechtenstein museums.

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