Mathaisemarkt
The Mathaisemarkt is a traditional spring festival in Schriesheim near Heidelberg . As the largest and first wine festival in the region, the Mathaisemarkt attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year in the first weeks of March, not just from the Rhine-Neckar triangle . In addition to rides and marquees, there are numerous stalls and booths at the popular festival, which is always well attended.
history
The Mathaisemarkt in the town of Schriesheim, the first big spring festival on Bergstrasse, has a long history. In 1579, Schriesheim received from Ludwig VI. the privilege of holding two markets , one on Matthias's day (February 24th) and one on Jacob's day (July 25th). The document about it bears the title: " Liberation of the instead of Schrießheim two Jarmärckt vf Jacobj vnd Matthiae Apostolj ". The first Mathaisemarkt took place in 1580. With this privilege Schriesheim became a market town again . Until shortly after the loss of its town charter , Schriesheim had already had the right to hold markets.
Until 1692, the Mathaisemarkt actually took place on February 24th. In 1789, the Mathaisemarkt was held on the first Tuesday in March. At that time the market was also a very large cattle market - and above all a horse market, where 1,300 head of cattle and 500 horses were brought up. In 1840 there were already 113 sales booths on the Mathaisemarkt, and by 1850 more than 200. At that time, dealers arrived on the Friday and Saturday before the opening on Tuesday.
From 1925 on, agricultural exhibitions were also held on the Mathaisemarkt. In 1926 the market started on Sunday and lasted until Tuesday (folk festival character). The tendency to move the beginning forward continued in the decades that followed. After 1970 the Mathaisemarkt was even spread over two weekends: from Saturday to Tuesday and from Friday to Sunday.
The tradition of a horse market, which was broken off around 1960, was deliberately taken up again in the 1980s. The Mathaisemarkt was often suspended during wartime. This was also the case in the second Gulf War in 1991, a controversial decision at the time. In 2004 the Mathaisemarkt celebrated its 425th anniversary year (1579–2004). Since 2006, the first spring festival on Bergstrasse has been celebrated from Friday to Tuesday and from Friday to Sunday.
literature
- Gerhard Merkel, Wilhelm Heeger: 400 years Mathaisemarkt in Schriesheim. Anniversary publication on the occasion of the first documentary mention of the Mathaisemarkt in 1579 . Schriesheim 1979.
