Kringelhöge
The Kringelhöge is the annual meeting of the Stecknitz driver's office that has been held in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck since the late Middle Ages .
history
From 1398 onwards, the boatmen united in the guild transported salt from Lüneburg to Lübeck on the Stecknitz Canal for a good 500 years , thereby contributing to the city's wealth and power. The Stecknitz driver festival has been celebrated every year in January since the 14th century according to traditional rituals. In Lübeck Cathedral , in which the altar of the Stecknitz drivers from 1422 is located, a service is held in Low German on the occasion of the Kringelhöge.
The name Kringelhöge is made up of the noun Kringel (pretzel) and the Low German verb högen for be happy. In the Middle Ages, orphans performed songs at the gathering. For this they were given pretzels, which they were very happy about. In the present, school classes take over this part. They are still given pretzels.
Even in the 21st century, the Kringelhöge is a purely men's event with around 200 participants. Women are only welcome to the festival ball in the evening. The Kringelhöge in the building of the Society for the Promotion of Charitable Activities is managed by the senior man , the chairman of the Stecknitz driver's office. It used to take place in the old Stecknitzfahrer office building. The invited guests include inland boatmen from all over Germany and official brothers such as the elderly man of the Gothmund fishermen, captains, nautical ship officers, representatives of the port industry and dignitaries of the city such as the city president and the mayor.
In the Middle Ages, all the concerns of the Stecknitz drivers were discussed at the Kringelhöge, but it was also about celebrating together. The meeting traditionally takes place as breakfast, to which the Stecknitz drivers of earlier centuries had to bring their own food.
A brown beer specially brewed for the occasion is served in pewter mugs. The jugs go around with a Low German toast and are refilled by the Schaffer. The Stecknitz driver says to his neighbor: "Ik drink di to." He replies: "Dat do." The Stecknitz driver after he has drunk: "Ik don't like it anymore." The neighbor: "Lang mi em her." (I drink to you. - Do that. - I don't like any more. - Give it (the jug) to me.) Grain and grog are also drunk, which is served in soup troughs.
In the speeches, topics from the areas of shipping and ports will be discussed. In 2007, senior man Hartmut Haase spoke out in favor of expanding the Elbe-Lübeck Canal . Ceremonial speeches are also held by guests, but when Mayor Ingeborg Sommer would have received this honor in the second half of the 1980s , her office did not outweigh the obstacle of not being welcome as a woman, reported a participant from then: The oil man is dat Fill it right, you have to send it to us. (The elderly man found it very difficult, but he had to send her home again.)
The custom of the Kringelhögen participants includes smoking tobacco in clay pipes with a long mouthpiece. It is strictly ensured that the tobacco is only infected with a piece of wood. Disregarding the rule, like other violations of the customs of Stecknitz drivers, is punished with a penalty.
Web links
- Information about the Stecknitz drivers and the Kringelhöge from Hans Nissen (Low German)
- Historical photo of the Kringelhöge on the Plattpartu side
- Report with pictures about the Kringelhöge 2008 as well as information about the Stecknitz drivers
