Neuss citizens' shooting festival
The Neusser Bürger-Schützenfest is the shooting festival of the city of Neuss am Rhein. It is held annually on the last weekend in August. With more than 7,700 marching riflemen and musicians (approx. 1,600 musicians), it is smaller than the Schützenfest Hannover , but is considered the world's largest shooting festival, which is organized by a single shooting club and in which no guest trains from other cities take part. In 2018, the record number of more than 7700 marchers was reached (2015:> 7500, 2012> 7200 participants). The Schützenfest with its royal parade, pageants, the royal shooting and numerous accompanying events is a social highlight in Neuss and the surrounding area and attracts up to a million visitors. 2007 was a record year with 1.5 million visitors.
The regiment
In the Middle Ages the rifle festival still had a military character, today the focus is on maintaining tradition and the sociable aspect. Therefore, the shooters wear uniforms, which, however, only include dummy rifles.
In 2016, the regiment comprised 7,684 active, i.e. marching, riflemen and musicians. It is divided into several corps, each wearing its own uniform. The shooting festival is organized by the Neusser Bürger-Schützen-Verein , in which all shooters are members. The Neusser Bürger-Schützen-Verein is headed by a 10 to 12-member committee, which includes the colonel. Outwardly, the shooting festival is represented by a shooting king who is determined every year by a bird shooting. Every shooter can apply for the royal dignity, but it is associated with considerable financial and time expenditure, also for the wife of the shooter king. The king is not on the committee.
The corps
The regiment is divided into a total of 10 corps that have emerged over time. Only two corps, the Grenadier Corps and the Jäger Corps, have participated since the rifle festival was founded in 1823.
The corps each have their own uniforms, so the pageants are varied and not all riflemen are uniformly dressed. With the exception of the noble boys, the target rifles, the artillery and the cavalry corps, all corps are divided into platoons of around 15 to 30 men.
The Neuss Sappeur Corps from 1830
With 20 men, the sappers form a small corps that consists of only one platoon. They wear a blue tunic, over it a white leather apron, a high cap with a red and white brush on it, and a hatchet. Since 1830, they have led the regiment every time they move. During the rifle festival, they also act as an honor guard at the whereabouts of the rifle king and the rider winner.
The Neuss Grenadier Corps from 1823
The grenadiers took part in the first rifle festival in 1823. They wear white trousers, a white shirt, a white bow tie and a black tailcoat or black cut with a black vest or a black waist band and a black top hat. The officers, on the other hand, wear a blue uniform skirt and a two-pointed hat with plumed plumage, the so-called Bonaparte, and a lion's head saber instead of tails. The grenadiers made up the second largest corps in 2011.
The noble boys corps from 1835
The Edelknaben-Korps offers boys from the age of 7 the opportunity to take part in the shooting festival. Other corps in the Neuss rifle regiment provide for the participation of children only in a relatively small number or not at all. The uniform of the noble boys consists of a black jacket with a red and white sash laid diagonally over it, short black pants made of velvet, white knee socks and black shoes. The cap of the noble boy is decorated with a red and white pompom. The noble boys carry a saber and their origin probably goes back to the time and, among other things, to the custom when girls dressed in white accompanied the king's carriage and scattered flowers on the way.
The establishment of the Edelknaben-Korps is dated to 1835, but the date cannot be exactly verified, but is only documented with the earliest receipt for the purchase of uniforms. During the royal parade, the noble boys precede the rifle king with a committee and guests of honor as an escort of honor and march in front of the king's carriage during the parades.
The Neuss Jägerkorps from 1823
Like the Grenadier Corps, the Jäger Corps was founded in 1823 and was the largest corps for a long time. Today the corps is in third place with almost 800 riflemen. The hunters wear a green tunic, white trousers and a green hat. On the left side of each train, a rifleman (called a Hönes) carries a huge drinking horn adorned with flowers.
The Neuss Schützenlust 1864/1950
Schützenlust has existed since 1864, died in 1930 due to a lack of offspring and was re-established in 1950. Schützenlust wears a dark green-light green double-breasted skirt, white trousers and a green hat.
Since 2011, Schützenlust has provided the largest corps.
St. Hubertus Schützen Society Neuss 1899
The St. Hubertus Schützen Society was founded in 1899 in honor of St. Hubertus of Liège . The Hubertusschützen wear a green skirt, black trousers and a black hat with a green ribbon. Like the Jägerkorps, they wear a horn adorned with flowers. The Hubertusschützen represent a small corps with around 630 riflemen. The Hubertus Schützen also experienced a decline in personnel after the Second World War . At the initiative of the committee, however, the society experienced a revitalization in 1953.
The Schützengilde Neuss from 1850/1961 e. V.
The rifle guild already existed from 1850 to 1891 and was re-established in 1961 before marching “across the market” again in 1962. The guild's riflemen wear a green skirt, black trousers and a green hat with a white feather. With 33 platoons and a total of around 600 riflemen, they are also a so-called small corps.
The procession of the Neuss target shooting company from 1415
The history of the target shooters goes back to the Sebastianus Brotherhood , which held shooting competitions as early as 1415. However, target shooters have only been taking part in the shooting festival with their own platoon since 1920. The more than 120 riflemen march in three rows. They wear a gray jacket and black trousers, with a rifle hat. As a special tribute to the king, all target archers pull their hats at the same time when a sign is given.
The Neuss Artillery Corps 1854
The artillery corps was founded in 1851, but has only been allowed to participate in the Neuss rifle festival since 1854. In the corps there are artillerymen on foot and on horseback. The eye-catcher of the artillery corps is a limber with a cannon pulled by six draft horses .
The Neuss equestrian corps 1828
The equestrian corps was founded in 1828. The riders wear a black riding tailcoat, including a red and white sash . The riders form the end of the pageant.
Festive course
The cornerstones of the shooting festival are the royal parade, the pageants and the royal shooting. There is also an extensive supporting program. The shooting festival takes place on the weekend of the last Sunday in August. It starts on Saturdays and ends on Tuesdays. The accompanying fair opens on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. with the traditional tapping of the keg.
The shooting festival officially begins on Saturdays at 12 noon with the thundering of the guns, the hoisting of the flags on the buildings of the city and the bells of the Quirinus Minster . At 5 p.m., the commemoration of the dead takes place on the market square in front of the town hall. Immediately afterwards the drum corps play to the sounds of “ Rejoice in Life ” (Reveille) and begin with a star march through the city. In the evening the first procession takes place with the torchlight procession. In addition, the shooters wear torches instead of their dummy rifles and a dark suit instead of their uniform. Individual trains build large torches on topics of their choice, which are pushed through the city on wagons. These large torches are the attraction of the torchlight procession. About 85–95 large torches are built.
On Sunday mornings, the parade takes place in honor of the rifleman king, during which the regiment passes the king and the committee in the market. It is not uncommon for high-ranking guests of honor to be present. In 2010 the then Federal Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière, was represented. The parade on Sunday morning was broadcast live on WDR's third television program until 2018 . This is followed by pageants of the riflemen through the city on Sunday afternoons, Monday afternoons and Monday evenings, as well as Tuesday afternoons and Tuesday evenings.
After the parade on Tuesday afternoon, the new shooter king will be determined on the festival meadow. The shooters who apply for the royal dignity shoot in turn at a block of wood (the so-called "bird") that is attached to a pole. The block of wood is easy to hit, but you still need around 20 to 40 shots with an over-and-under rifle to dismantle the block. As a result, the royal dignity depends more on luck than on the shooting skills of the applicants.
After the king's shooting, the official “Big Zapfenstreich ” takes place in the festival tent on the Schützenwiese . It is voiced in annually changing order by the 1st Neuss Regiment Drum Corps in 1904, the Neuss drum corps "In Treue fest" 1968 and the Neuss Regimental and Federal Drum Corps Novesia in 1912 together with the Musikverein Holzheim in 1956. The drum corps and the band march into the marquee with the march of the Yorck'schen Korps (1813) by Ludwig van Beethoven, accompanied by the Neuss sappers corps from 1830.
In the evening there is a last pageant (the so-called “wobbly procession”) with dancing on the streets through the city. Sometimes the shooters "decorate" their uniforms or think of insoles for the train. Some shooters got themselves roses in the afternoon, which they hand over to the ladies, the “Nüsser Röskes”, who watch on the roadside during the evening parade. As a thank you, they demand a dance from them, which is gladly granted. At the end of the procession there is a march past the new king.
At around midnight, the “Great Zapfenstreich ” of the Neuss target group from 1415 takes place on Münsterplatz . It is therefore not an official event of the Neusser Bürger-Schützen-Verein. However, the committee, the new Schützenkönig and some traits of Neuss Schützenlust also take part. The drum corps "Deutschmeister Köln" 1951 Roggendorf / Thenhoven and the United Jägerkapelle Straberg in 1926 move up with the march of the Yorck'schen Korps (1813) by Ludwig van Beethoven. A joint army march, such as the Mussinan march by Carl Carl, the Alexander march by Andreas Leonhardt or the King Ludwig II march by Georg Seifert and the Great Elector's cavalry march by Count Cuno von Moltke , which the United Jägerkapelle plays, are serenades Straberg lectures alone. With pitch torches, flag delegations, kettle drum, national anthem and the final ringing of the bells of the Quirinus Minster, it is considered by many to be the worthy end to a successful shooting festival.
other events
During the rifle festival, the balls of the various corps take place on Sunday and Monday evening after the parades, for example the balls of the grenadiers and the Schützenlust on Sundays and the ball of the hunters on Monday. There is also a wide range of parties across the city.
Events outside of the shooting festival
The “Assembly of Citizens and Citizens' Sons” takes place six weeks before the shooting festival. A keynote speaker asks the crucial question of whether the Schützenfest should be celebrated again this year. The assembled citizens and riflemen answer with a loud "Zoch, Zoch!"
Three weeks before the shooting festival, the colonel is elected on Saturdays (Oberstehrenabend). Then there is a parade in a suit and with pitch torches in honor of the colonel.
Two weeks before the shooting festival, the royal evening takes place on Saturdays. The rifle king has the opportunity to distribute medals to riflemen of his choice. Then, similar to the Oberstehren evening, a procession in honor of the king takes place.
One week after the shooting festival, the coronation ball takes place on Saturdays, where the new king is awarded the royal dignity.
history
founding
As early as the Middle Ages, many cities held annual defense and shooting exercises so that their citizens could defend the city's freedom in the event of a crisis. The oldest surviving organization that held such exercises in Neuss was the Sebastianus Brotherhood from 1415.
The shooting festival in its current form goes back to the year 1823. After the end of the French occupation under Napoléon Bonaparte , the Neuss bachelor party asked for permission to hold a bird shooting and a pageant parallel to the already existing Bartholomäuskirmes.
The event counted about 100 participants, in 1824 there were already 135. In the following decades the structures known today developed: In 1833 a committee was elected to organize the shooting festival, in 1840 the royal parade was included in the festival program. The regiment was structured more and more into the corps that are still known today. In 1901, after the introduction of the civil code, the Neusser Bürger-Schützen-Verein was entered in the register of associations .
First and Second World War
On July 25, 1914, it was decided to let the rifle festival take place despite the threat of World War I , but mobilization began on August 1, so that the festival was canceled that year and the following.
In 1920 the occupation authorities gave permission to hold the festival again, but the international press saw it as a "longing for revenge, a flare-up of militarism". The shooting festival was banned in 1923 and 1924 and only allowed again by the Belgian occupation forces in 1925, a week before the actual date. In 1927 the 100th anniversary, which would actually have fallen in 1923, was celebrated with over 1200 marchers.
In the wake of the economic crisis , the 1931 shooting festival was canceled, but it was celebrated again in the following years. But one clashed with the ruling National Socialists. The NS district leader demanded in vain in 1937 that the Neuss clergy should not be invited to the parade in the town hall. Train names with religious motifs (Münster choir, Dreikönigenchor) were banned. In 1939 the last rifle festival before the Second World War was celebrated , and the first military transport trains left Düsseldorf on the Thursday after. A new king was not expelled in 1939, so that the incumbent Robert Lonnes did not find a successor until 1948. This made him the king with the longest term in office in the history of the Neuss Citizens' Shooters Festival.
After the Second World War
In 1947, Neuss riflemen marched in a silent march from the town hall to the Quirinus Minster through the ruins of the city, and it wasn't until 1948 that a king was expelled again. A rifle festival with four festive days has only been held again since 1949.
List of marksman kings
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particularities
A so-called “Schützenampel” is installed on three sides of the town hall tower. This serves as orientation for the many riflemen during the deployment. If the traffic light is switched from red to green at the start of the parades, the shooters in the more distant squares know that things are about to start for them. This traffic light was already a topic in the program “Genial Daneben” on Sat.1 .
Since the Neuss regiment has more than 7,000 riflemen, it should - from a military point of view - be headed by a " general ". In Neuss, however, the regiment is “only” led by a “ colonel ”.
literature
- Association of Heimatfreunde: Rejoice in life - riflemen, rifle women and rifle festival in Neuss am Rhein . Neuss 1998, ISBN 3-923607-28-8 .
- Joseph Lange: Citizens and Citizens' Sons. 175 years of the Neuss Citizens' Rifle Club 1823-1998 . Neuss 1998, ISBN 3-923607-27-X .
- Joseph Lange: Neusser - Citizen - Protect . The Joseph Lange Collection / Neusser Bürger-Schützen-Verein. Ceremony for the 95th birthday of Joseph Lange. Neuss 2006. (Contributions to Rhenish Riflemen 1), ISBN 3-936542-24-4 .
- Christoph Waldecker : On the trail of shooters. A walk through the city center of Neuss . Neuss 2006.
- Boris Fröhlich: "My regimental book". Neuss 1997, ISBN 3-926054-09-3
- Boris Fröhlich: "Neuss Calendar". Neuss 1999, ISBN 3-926054-11-5
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helga Bittner: The King's Parade: A pleasure even when it rains. In: Neuss-Grevenbroicher newspaper. August 26, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2012.