Michaeliskirmes
The Michaeliskirmes is a fair in the city center of Brilon . Since 1955, the Michaeliskirmes has been held every year around the last weekend in September - from Friday to Monday - close to Michaelmas Day. The fair mile, a good 1.6 km long, extends from the Schultenhaus in Steinweg over the market square to Derker Tor .
history
The beginnings of the Michaeliskirmes go back to the Middle Ages. In 1428 the market day was first mentioned by name for the first time, namely as "frigge Kermesse to sente Michels misse". This name was mentioned in a statute issued by the city magistrate on June 29, 1428 to the shoemakers and tanners' guild. A document dated July 17, 1605 shows that this fair can be traced back to the time of the Archbishop of Cologne, Walram von Jülich , who headed the electorate from 1332 to 1349. In this award document, Elector Ernst von Bayern, who was ruling at the time, granted the city two further annual markets to raise its prosperity, including the trading day on September 29, Michael’s Day. However, the year of creation of this market does not appear from the certificate. However, a comparison with the markets mentioned in the statutes for the shoemakers of 1428 provides the indication that it must be the Michaelsmarkt, which was introduced during the reign of Archbishop Walram, although no exact year can be determined. This Michaelsmarkt, which is regarded as the forerunner of today's city fair, was not held continuously. It was closed shortly before 1850 and merged with another municipal fair.
Before 1955 the Martinskirmes was celebrated. This took place around the name day of Saint Martin of Tours in early November. Since the weather did not attract so many visitors around Martin's Day on November 11th - the day of the saint's remembrance - the Michaeliskirmes was celebrated from 1955 onwards. September 29th is the consecration day of St. Michael's Church on Via Salaria in Rome and the feast of St. Michael the Archangel was set on this day. The tradition of the fair was retained, only the name and the date were changed. August Isken, Josef Thiele and Wolfgang Nickolay (former chairmen of the Heimat- und Verkehrsverein) laid the foundation stone for today's major event.
Michaeliskirmes schedule
The fair in Brilon is opened every year on the last weekend in September on Friday at 4 p.m. with a traditional tapping of the barrel under the arch of the town hall by the Brilon mayor together with the Brilon forest fairy, delegates of the council and representatives of the showmen and administrative employees. The Brilon wind orchestra will provide the musical accompaniment. On Friday evening there will be a fireworks display on Kalvarienberg at 9 p.m. The fair is open until midnight on Fridays and until 2 a.m. on Saturdays. Every year visitors to the Michaeliskirmes can shop in the shops in Brilon on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Sundays and Mondays there is a traditional Krammarkt in the area between Schulstrasse - Derkere Mauer - Kirchenstrasse. Sunday is generally considered a family day, on which the fair is open from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. The fair ends on Mondays at midnight.