Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival
| Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival | |
|---|---|
|
|
| sports |
Fitness athletics gymnastics |
| Attendees | national |
| meeting | August or September |
| Duration | one day |
| place | Felsing plant, Nieder-Beerbach |
| district | Darmstadt-Dieburg |
| state | Hesse |
| founding | June 1902 |
| organizer | Frankenstein Mountain Turn Festival Committee |
| management | Udo Bausch |
| Website | tv-nieder-beerbach.de |
The Frankenstein-Bergturnfest is a traditional one-day mountain sports festival on the Langenberg on the western edge of the Odenwald on the Hessian Bergstrasse near Nieder-Beerbach , a district of Mühltal . It has been held annually since 1902 and has attracted tens of thousands of participants and visitors. The event is open to members of all sports clubs and to all age groups from children to senior citizens. In 2002 the hundredth anniversary was celebrated and a commemorative publication was published.
history
1873 to 1902
In 1873 the 7th Gauturntag of the Main-Rhein-Gau decided to hold a "folk gymnastics festival", which the gymnastics club Erbach was commissioned to organize. The venue was the “upper and lower Schöllenberg”, the day of the Ascension Day in 1874 on Saturday, May 16. The clubs of the Middle Rhine District were able to take part in the competitions in "Freiweit", "Freihoch", stone throwing and running. However, due to unfavorable weather conditions, this first event had to be postponed to Sunday, May 17, 1874.
From 1882 onwards, two so-called “gymnastics” took place annually at Gau level, to which the participants marched on fixed routes over sometimes long distances to the respective venues on Bergstrasse, Erbach or Obernburg .
The 38th Gauturntag of the Main-Rhein-Gaues in 1898 finally decided that these "gymnastics" should no longer be carried out centrally at Gau level, but decentrally in the individual districts.
1902 to 1945
This prehistory led to the first “gymnastics” on the Langenberg in June 1902, which is therefore counted as the first mountain gymnastics festival at this point , and the second “gymnastics” on May 17, 1903.
The venue on the Langenberg was always referred to as Frankenstein after the nearby castle, which is widely known as a landmark.
The gymnasts of the Main Rodgau Association also held mountain gymnastics festivals at the same location after the First World War . Most of the documents from this time have been lost, so that only a small amount of data from this time can be verified. The mountain gymnastics festival of the Main-Rodgau Association took place for the first time in 1920 and for the tenth time in 1931 on the Langenberg. In light of this counting, it was apparently a year from now, perhaps at the time of hyperinflation .
In 1927 the gymnasts erected and ceremoniously inaugurated the large obelisk of the memorial for the dead of the world war. During these years, the memorial was repeatedly the destination of the Gau's “jewelery memory hike”, named after the chairman of the Middle Rhine district.
During the time of National Socialism , the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festivals took place under the direction of the German Reichsbund for physical exercises and, from 1938, the National Socialist Reichsbund for physical exercises with three-way competitions (75 and 100 meter runs, long jump and shot put) with a particularly large participation of Youth up to and including 1943. After that, the mountain gymnastics festivals were canceled due to the increasingly stronger effects of the Second World War .
1945 to 2002
The immediate post-war period was initially devoted to essential living conditions, and sports clubs and associations were not allowed to re-establish themselves immediately, as the Allied occupying powers considered them to be carriers of National Socialist ideas. The statutes and statutes had to be partially revised, associations mostly formed completely new.
It was not until December 1948 that the district chairman Philipp Matthes applied to the district gymnastics day in Darmstadt to continue the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival from 1949. First of all, however, it was necessary to restore the conditions for the competition area on the Langenberg. This was done by TV 1893 Seeheim, TV 1876 Eberstadt and TV 1894 Nieder-Beerbach. The regional gymnastics officer Jupp Balzert acted as the organizer. Working together, all those involved succeeded in holding the Frankenstein Mountain Turn Festival again in 1949. From 1951 a mountain gymnastics festival committee was formed under the direction of Ludwig Jourdan, the then chairman of TV 1894 Nieder-Beerbach, who took care of the future conception and organization. As it turned out, the small forest meadow previously used soon became too small. The larger area envisaged was located nearby on the so-called Magnetberg. It was shaped by the Nieder-Beerbach clubs under the direction of Gauvolksturnwart Balzert with great personal effort in voluntary work into a contemporary competition facility.
From 1958, TV 1894 Nieder-Beerbach took over the organization of the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival in its sole direction. The former mayor of the town, Friedrich-Wilhelm Pritsch, became chairman of the committee. Over time, a forest path that originally crossed the running track was moved to the end of the area. Today's visitor parking lot of the castle was formerly a field of the castle tenant. Between 1958 and 1963 it could be used in a three-way fight instead of the shot put for the hit ball and sling ball long throw. After that, the three-way battle had to be switched back to shot put or stone throwing because of the newly created visitor parking lot.
In 1962, the chairman of the Hessian Gymnastics Association, Franz Wilhelm Beck, inaugurated the mountain gymnastics festival committee's log cabin next to the competition area, which was named after Johann Heinrich Felsing .
A separate logo was introduced for the Frankenstein-Bergturnfest in the 1980s.
The 100-meter running track, which used to drop by three and a half meters, was leveled in 1981 . Before this measure, the runners had to be caught or stopped by helpers at the finish. In the following years, the entire facility was designed so that it is available to the population all year round as a leisure area.
In 1982 the eightieth anniversary, in 2002 the hundredth anniversary of the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival was celebrated. A commemorative publication was published on both occasions.
terrain
A specially designated sports facility is available for the mountain gymnastics festival in the middle of the UNESCO Geo-Nature Park Bergstrasse-Odenwald , a largely flat area with a wooden railing and a mowed lawn and long jump sand pit forms the main competition area. It is located directly on Burgenweg, southwest of Frankenstein Castle and its visitor parking lot . The long-distance runs held during the Frankenstein Mountain Gymnastics Festival lead over forest and walking paths as well as partly over paved roads.
topography
According to the name of the mountain gymnastics festival, the event takes place in an elevated position. Both to the competition area and in some of the running competitions, therefore, greater inclines must be overcome. During the so-called Lindwurmlauf ( Karl-Roß-Gedächtnislauf ) the lowest point of the route is about 255 meters above sea level. NN , the highest at about 405 meters above sea level. NN.
Competition program
sports
At the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival, athletics and gymnastics as well as the trend sport Nordic walking are offered.
In autumn 2012 a new concept was decided by a mountain gymnastics festival committee expanded to include club representatives:
- The athletic three-way battle remains the basis
- Cross-country skiing covers distances of 1,500, 3,000 and 10,000 meters
- Special disciplines such as stone throwing are complemented by tree trunk throwing
- Game course from old and new gymnastics games
- Relay races and biathlon (running and throwing) as final competitions
Competition disciplines
- Three-way fight (optionally three of four disciplines, according to age group and gender)
- 50, 75, 100, 800 or 1000 meter run
- Long jump or standing long jump
- Shot put 3, 4, 5 or 6.25 or 7.25 kilograms
- Ball or full ball throwing 80, 200 or 800 grams or 1.5 kilograms
- Long distance running , 1.5 kilometers, 3 or 10 kilometers
- Nordic walking, 10 kilometers
- Clubs target throw, 15, 20 or 25 meters
- Pole long jump
- Relay (shuttle relay ), 4 × 50, 4 × 75, 4 × 100, 10 × 75 or 8 × 100 meters
- Stone throwing , 10 or 15 kilograms
As part of the cross-country cup competitions, the so-called Lindwurmlauf ( Karl-Roß-Gedächtnislauf ) takes place over a distance of 10 kilometers, which has been offered since 1995. The runners overcome a total of 150 meters in altitude.
In addition, the 10 kilometer long lindworm walking and the approximately one and a half kilometer long forest run around the Frankenstein are carried out.
Top performance
For example, the gymnast Johannes Hablik (TV 1877 Ober-Ramstadt), Hessian champion in gymnastics and multiple German champion in German all-around competitions are listed in the statistics of the best performances that were created during the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival .
organization
Volunteering
For more than a hundred years, a large number of voluntary helpers have been of decisive importance for the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival, without whose tireless commitment such an event would not be possible. For example, the competition areas must be prepared in a suitable manner, competition statistics must be kept and evaluated, food and beverages must be procured, transported and, in some cases, prepared, and sufficient drinking water, medical care and sanitary facilities must be guaranteed. This includes extensive press and public relations work as well as contact with the many participating associations.
organizer
The Frankenstein-Bergturnfest committee consists of members of the gymnastics club 1894 Nieder-Beerbach and the Turngau Main-Rhein. The committee chairman is Udo Bausch.
meeting
The date of the event is set annually in close coordination with the Turngau Main-Rhine with consideration of nature conservation outside of the breeding and setting times . Traditionally, the event takes place on the last Sunday in August, depending on the current duration of the Hessian school summer vacation, but sometimes on the second Sunday in September or between these two dates.
Fundraising
At Gauturntag, fundraising is carried out for the Frankenstein-Bergturnfest in order to generate financial resources.
Sponsorship
There are changing sponsors for the Frankenstein-Bergturnfest, for example a savings bank and an energy supplier. These donate, among other things, the trophies that remain with the winners for competitions.
logo
For the Frankenstein-Bergturnfest a special logo was designed with a circular, but not limited by a border. All around the logo bears the lettering with the name of the event in upper and lower case, in the center three pictograms of offered sports disciplines and the towers of Frankenstein Castle are shown as a local reference. The logo is monochrome black on a white background.
Infrastructure
During the event, the Felsing Hut is used by the organizers of the 1894 Nieder-Beerbach gymnastics club as a competition office and catering for the competition participants. The volunteer fire department supplied the participants at the event on a large reservoir of fresh drinking water, beyond mobile sanitation are provided. Participating clubs have the opportunity to set up tents after approval. During the competitions, the German Red Cross local association Nieder-Beerbach is available for any necessary supplies, the long-distance runs are sometimes accompanied by the DRK by quad . The facility is being prepared for the competitions with the active help of the local building yard.
Supporting program
Among other things, due to the fact that the competitions are held in a nature reserve, the possibilities of a supporting program are narrowly limited. In earlier years there was a common prayer before the start of the competitions, but this was later waived.
cenotaph
After the First World War , Turner erected a cenotaph from hewn stones of various sizes and metal parts next to the castle's visitors' car park and inaugurated it on September 4, 1927. A sword composed of variously shaped stone elements , which at the same time represents a Christian cross , was symbolically attached to the obelisk . Instead of the crossguard of this sword or as the horizontal axis of the cross, a narrow rectangular plaque is attached. It bears the carved inscription: "Remember the dead and what they died for". Below the memorial plaque, at the level of the so-called ricasso of the sword blade , there are gold-colored metal numbers on both sides, on the left “1914 - 1918”, right “1939 - 1945”. The memorial, originally dedicated to the dead of the First World War, was rededicated decades later for the dead of the Second World War . A gold-colored metal gymnast's cross, centered in a wreath of oak leaves and attached to the obelisk, sits on top as a sword pommel . The downward pointing sword tip symbolizes defensibility, but not aggressiveness. The oak leaf wreath stands for immortality , steadfastness and loyalty . The four F stand for fresh, pious, happy, free . The background of the nowadays often no longer comprehensible combination of gymnast's cross and patriotic-military-oriented commemoration is the fact that the gymnastics movement in the 19th century was closely linked to efforts towards national unity . Up until the 20th century, gymnastics was directed towards the goal of physically training young men for defense.
In the lower area of the obelisk, stones protrude from the obelisk, which serve to hang wreaths. A commemorative event and wreath-laying ceremony takes place on the occasion of the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival. The organizers of the sporting event have taken over the permanent maintenance of the memorial.
Prices
Attractive prizes and honors are awarded to the athletes. For example, there are gold, silver and bronze medals, the dragon slayer shield in silver or bronze, the Frankenstein honor shield and the Ritter-Georg shield as hiking prizes as well as trophies provided by sponsors.
nomenclature
The names Lindwurmlauf and Lindwurm-Walking go back to the legend that knight Georg von Frankenstein is said to have defeated a dragon in the quarry below the castle. This was a threat to the population of Nieder-Beerbach and could only be kept at a distance by the flesh of young girls. This also explains the naming of individual prizes.
literature
- Rudolf Gasch : Handbook of the entire gymnastics. Pichler, Vienna / Leipzig 1928.
- Franz Wilhelm Beck: German gymnastics. Limpert, Frankfurt am Main 1953.
- Franz Wilhelm Beck: Mountain gymnastics festivals in Hessenland, contribution to Hessian gymnastics history. Extended special print from: The Hessian Gymnastics Association. Handbook, Bad Vilbel 1968.
- Frankenstein Mountain Turn Festival Committee (Ed.): 80 years of the Frankenstein Mountain Turn Festival. Festschrift, 1982.
- Frankenstein Mountain Turn Festival Committee (Ed.): 100 Years of the Frankenstein Mountain Turn Festival. Festschrift, 2002.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Frankenstein-Bergturnfest-Committee (Ed.): Festschrift 100 years Frankenstein-Bergturnfest, 2002
- ↑ Frankenstein-Bergturnfest-Committee (Ed.): Festschrift 80 years Frankenstein-Bergturnfest, 1982
- ↑ Announcement for the Lindwurmlauf on: tv-nieder-beerbach.de
- ↑ Elevation profile of the Lindwurmlauf on the Frankenstein at: tv-nieder-beerbach.de (PDF file, 8 kB)
- ↑ Route of the Lindwurmlauf on Frankenstein on: tv-nieder-beerbach.de (KML file, 28 kB)
- ↑ Logo of the Frankenstein-Bergturnfest on tv-nieder-beerbach.de
Web links
- Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival
- Turngau Main-Rhein e. V.
- Mountain gymnastics festivals in Hessen
Coordinates: 49 ° 47 ' N , 8 ° 40' E