Kiel envelope
The Kieler Umschlag is a folk festival in the Schleswig-Holstein state capital, Kiel .
history
The Kieler Umschlag goes back to a medieval free market of the same name , which has taken place annually since 1431. Initially it was held in November (the week after St. Martin ), from 1473 on in January. The Kiel envelope has been mentioned in writing since 1469.
The Kiel envelope was opened every year with the hoisting of the city flag on the tower of the Nikolaikirche. At that time the "flag" was still a red painted iron shield, which carried the coat of arms of the city. It was a sign of freedom from the market, but was also slightly disrespectfully referred to in northern German vernacular as "mayester sin Büx".
The Kieler Umschlag quickly developed into one of the most important institutions in the country. In Kiel , the then very important city of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein , the aristocratic landowners as well as merchants and their lawyers from Hamburg and Lübeck met on this one appointment each year to handle all financial transactions that were due. Debts were repaid and new loans were taken out. The negotiations took place in the Old Market , in the public rooms of the town hall and in the church itself.
In addition to the money business, numerous entertainment offers attracted the people to the city. Jugglers, tightrope walkers, showmen and comedians provided amusement. But also those who were unable to pay their debts contributed to the general amusement, because the creditor was allowed to have so-called "shame paintings" - caricatures of the debtor - made and to hand them over to the public. In addition, the debtor expected a prison sentence, the "storage".
In the 16th century, the Kiel envelope had reached its peak and also had international significance. However, this slowly decreased again in the 17th century and in 1911 the handling of goods in Kiel was completely stopped. Since 1975, the Kieler Umschlag takes place as a folk festival every year on the last weekend in February in Holstenstrasse and on the Alter Markt.
The Kiel envelope today
On January 31, 1975, the first modern cargo handling facility in Kiel was opened. The support company "Lebendiges Kiel", founded in 1973, took on the new folk festival in order to support both the economic development of Kiel and to promote sociable city life. The new Kiel envelope was intended to be the winter counterpart to the Kiel Week and, like it, inspire the citizens of Kiel with a colorful, cultural and traditional program. The first event was a complete success; From Holstenplatz to the Old Market, a wide variety of performances, stalls and music attracted visitors.
Since then, the Kieler Umschlag has taken place every year according to a set ritual. On the Thursday before the last weekend in February, a happy crowd gathers in front of the Warleberger Hof city museum in Dänische Strasse to wake up the symbolic figure of the envelope, former mayor Asmus Bremer , and his wife Katharina with a lot of noise and music . These are performed by volunteer actors and present their chamber pots as a sign of awakening . The Asmus Büx envelope flag is then hoisted on the tower of the Nikolaikirche on the Alter Markt , which means that the envelope is officially opened. Asmus Bremer and his wife stroll through the city with their entourage for the entire festival period. After four days, on Sunday, Asmus Bremer and his wife go back to sleep in order to be woken up again next year.
The Kieler Umschlag takes place in the Kiel pedestrian zone and on the Rathausplatz. In addition to rides and food stalls, there is a medieval market (on the old market), the "craftsman tent", where regional handicrafts are presented, and the "Laboer tent" with maritime meals and shanty choirs .
One of the highlights of the Kiel envelope is probably the “envelope wedding”, at which a real bride and groom are married.
radio play
- In the clutches of the Hanseatic League - From the Kiel Buspraken. 120 min., Radio play by Hilke Wilhelmsen (Ed.), A. a. on the peculiarities of the cargo handling in Kiel in the Middle Ages, based on historical circumstances, Kiel 2009.
Web links
- Kiel cover on www.kiel-sailing-city.de
- Press release from the City of Kiel, January 28, 2010
Individual evidence
- ↑ Junghölter, Manuela .: Kiel: small city history . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 2016, ISBN 978-3-7917-2745-5 , p. 27 ( worldcat.org [accessed May 16, 2020]).