Samson figure

Samson meeting in Mauterndorf im Lungau (Austria)

The Tamsweger Samson

The Samson of Ath (Belgium)

Samson figurines are a special form of parade giants, large figures that are worn in various types of pageants. Some of the moving giants popular in several European countries represent biblical or mythological giants. Fourteen of these figures are larger-than-life replicas of the biblical Samson with the equipment of a Roman legionnaire or a soldier from the Napoleonic era. They are made of wood or light metal and are carried by one person each during traditional street parades. They are found in Ath , in the west of Wallonia (Belgium), and in inner-Alpine Austria. The meanwhile 13 Samson figures in Lungau and in the neighboring Styria (a closed cultural landscape at the border triangle between Salzburg , Styria and Carinthia ) are carried out by the band and partly by two auxiliary figures (the couple constellation is a typical one in the carnival runs of the 16th and 17th century) in the form of a male and female dwarf, accompanied by riflemen and folk dance groups. The Samson figure by Ath is one of several giant figures of the annual Ducasse d'Ath festival .

The Samson wear in Lungau and Murau district was added to the list of intangible cultural heritage in Austria (national UNESCO list) in 2010 .

Samson figures as moving giants

Classification and distribution

"In the religious and secular procession playing different European landscapes, all of a Counter-Reformation history in relation to the significant restoration Order of the Jesuits and Dominicans , larger than life exhibit and them nachgereihten minority religious occur, anthropomorphic mask characters, which according to their shape and function generally use huge , especially Procession or parade giants are called. From a purely morphological point of view, they are to be addressed as oversized sculptures that are displayed in corridors. ... If, on the other hand, the social giants are seen from their function, they are to be seen as game masks. They are a representational means to visualize a narrative and ultimately a faithful figure ”.

Lungau

The earliest references to moving giants can be found in Bronze Age stone carvings in southern and central Sweden. Three ancient authors describe giant figures made of wickerwork frames in Gaul. In the period from the late Middle Ages to around the Napoleonic period, colonial giants can be found in Holland, Belgium, southern England, in various regions of France and Spain, in southern Germany, Austria, Calabria, Sicily, Mexico and Brazil.

Today moving giants concentrate on the area from northern France via Belgium to the southern Netherlands , Catalonia , Valencia , Sicily and the Austrian Lungau. Areas that, like work, etc. a. by Karl Amon show that contiguous counter-Reformation processional landscapes are under the clear influence of the Habsburgs . Some traditions have a fixed canon of giants, often together with traditional and historical figures. With others, the characters are subject to constant change. Old Testament giants are common motifs in the former. The giant Goliath is shown most prominently .

Samson figures, which are used as giants in street parades, are found in ten municipalities in Lungau (identical to the Tamsweg district in the State of Salzburg ) - in Tamsweg , Mariapfarr , St. Michael , Muhr , Unterstberg , Wölting (a district of Tamsweg), Ramingstein , St. Andrä , St. Margarethen , Mauterndorf -, in two municipalities in neighboring Styria  - in Murau and Krakaudorf - and in Ath in Belgium.

Ath

Despite the great geographical distance between the Samson figures, the history of their origins makes them comparable. Both are proven by written evidence until the 17th century. For some Austrian figures of Samson it can be proven that they used to be part of much larger processions with other Old Testament figures, such as are still part of the Ducasse Festival in Belgium today. Both the Austrian figures and the Belgian Samson were banned in the course of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution , although the bans on the Austrian Samson figures lasted much longer.

What the giant figures in Lungau and the Burgundian Netherlands, to which Ath belongs, have in common that they only appear on church consecration days ( ducasse - or Prangtage ), which lie in the months of June to August, which is another indication of their origin from the great Catholic processions is. Another parallel exists in the David and Goliath game, which has been preserved as a custom in Ramingstein im Lungau with interruptions and was a typical Corpus Christi game. In contrast to Ath, however, it is not performed by giant figures, but by people.

Shape of the figures

The Unterberger Samson figure

A Samson figure weighs around 80 kilograms and is carried by a single man. This is supported by several assistants. In Austria four so-called Aufhabe (from “recharge”) are common, which support the Samson during breaks and rush to help in critical situations. In Styria they are called Haberer .

The different Samson figures differ mainly in their size and the color of their clothes. The existing figures are between 4.30 and 6.80 meters high. Almost all of them wear a tunic , a wide sash over their shoulders and hips and a warrior helmet on their heads. They are armed with a lance and a scimitar . Only in Ath and Murau do the figures differ from this in a uniform from the time of the French Revolution. In other places they are accompanied by music and rifle groups in French uniforms, a popular mockery of the enemy from the time of the French Wars. They hold a donkey's jaw in their hand (exception: Mariapfarr). The biblical Samson slew the enemy Philistines with the jaw of a donkey . The Samson from Ath has a pillar as a further attribute, as he, chained to it, tore down the pillar and the temple and thus buried the Philistines under the rubble of the temple. The heads of the Samson figures are either carved out of wood, made of paper mache with a wooden frame behind, or made of polyester casting (Mauterndorf).

Some of the Samson figures are accompanied by two dwarfs at their side (slightly larger than a man's tall figures with huge heads). In the first historical illustration, from 1803 in Tamsweg, there are two female dwarfs. Today there is always a male and a female dwarf who possibly symbolize the sun and moon. They make the giant Samson appear even more impressive.

In the following, the commonalities of the Samson figures in history and today's use in inner-Alpine Austria are described in more detail. The story of the Samson figure by Ath is inextricably linked with the story of the Ducasse d'Ath .

The Samson figures of inner-Alpine Austria

History of the Samson characters

Emergence

Samson painting by the painter Andrä Moser from 1876. It shows Samson from Tamsweg.

The giant Lungau figures are documented by sources from the first half of the 18th century. The figure of Samson was part of a baroque procession on Corpus Christi - or Prangtag - along with other biblical figures . These processions are documented for Tamsweg for the period from 1690 to 1720. In 1720 the death of a goliath is recorded in the death book. The processions are also occupied for St Michael and Murau. Comparable processions with giant figures have survived in Sicily - for example the giants Cronos and Mitia in Mistretta  .

It has been suggested that the Samson custom could have a much older origin. In the course of the bans of 1802 it was said that the tradition of the Samson figures was very old. Various natural mythological and national theories sought the origin of the Samson figure in Germanic as well as Slavic "Kornvater legends". Such opinions in the search for folk myths and legends still find popular and populist benevolence today. However, it has not been proven whether the early stages of folklore, the natural mythologists in the middle of the 19th century, first invented these legends, or whether there were actually opinions in the population about them. In the dictionary of German folklore in the 1974 edition, which is based on the 1940 edition, the terms Samson and Kornvater are no longer included.

Another explanation for the appearance of the Samson figures is provided by a legend according to which the Lungauers, and in particular the inhabitants of the village of Wölrinf (today Wölting), received the Samson privilege due to special bravery in a successful battle against the Duchess Margaret of Tyrol (1318-1369) was awarded. There is a similar legend for Muhr. Such legends lead away from actual history, but show how important this custom and its outstanding form became to the population. The same could also be seen as the reason for the long persistence of earlier political opinions that have been proven unscientific today: the need to make a beloved custom even more meaningful through an "ancient", no longer comprehensible story.

Baroque pomp processions of the Counter Reformation

The first sources on the usage of Samson are related to the Capuchin monasteries in Tamsweg and Murau founded in the Counter Reformation in 1643 . Their main task was to bring the population of the upper Mur Valley back to the Catholic faith, who had largely become Protestant during the Reformation. This was the purpose of magnificent processions, especially on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Corpus Christi and Brotherhood Monday (one octave after Corpus Christi). In the latter case, six movable miniature stages with scenes from the Old Testament mounted on ox-drawn wagons were carried along. The seventh place in the processional order leads Samson. The Samson was "12 shuah [shoes] high" (approx. 360-380 cm) and was carried by a porter who was supported by a guide. In the wake of the Samson figure - comparable to today - the riflemen with flag, ensign, drummer, piper and corporal were found. In addition to Samson, other Old Testament figures were carried along: David and Goliath , Moses and Aaron , Abraham and Isaac , Judith and many others. Among these groups of figures are Moses and Aaron, who destroy the golden calf, Judith, who murdered Holofernes in his sleep, David, who defeated Goliath, and Samson, who slew a thousand Philistines, among the typical outfits of the Corpus Christi procession, since they had a victory over represent the unbelievers and precursor legends of the victorious Christ. This always includes Abraham, who as an example of right religious behavior is ready to sacrifice even his son - a sacrifice that God does not accept.

Why Samson is included as an essential processional figure in the Counter-Reformation Corpus Christi processions is obvious, because he is considered to be one of the forerunners, the precursors , of Christ in the Old Testament. According to the understanding of the Corpus Christi procession from the 16th to the early 19th century as a fight and demonstration against the heretics , Samson was an ideal figure in religious didactics. He too was born in a special way (as John means by an old mother; announced by an angel like Christ). He is bigger and stronger than everyone else, his strength is unearthly. He wears his hair unshaven, like Christ's followers. He alone destroys thousands of Philistines / unbelievers and sacrifices himself in this way (dies himself under the broken column).

The oldest mention of a Samson figure in Lungau deals with the best-documented Tamsweg Samson: In 1720, the parish's death register lists a Samson bearer who carried out this activity for 32 years. Samson from Murau was first mentioned in 1746/47 in connection with the purchase of a Samson figure from Tamsweg. The figure of Samson from St. Michael is mentioned for the first time in connection with a remuneration of its wearer in 1754. There are no written records about any of the other Samson figures before 1802, i.e. before the time of the Samson prohibitions.

Samson prohibitions at the time of the Enlightenment and revival of customs

The first photograph of a Samson from 1870 shows the St. Michael Samson with the citizen music.

Historic photo of Tamsweger Samsons around 1890

The time of the Enlightenment and in particular the reforms of the Salzburg Archbishop and Bishop of Gurk , Hieronymus von Colloredo , brought the end of the pomp processions and thus the temporary end of the figures of Samson. In 1784, the government of the Archbishopric of Salzburg ordered that portraits and carved figures should not be carried during processions.

Six months later, this ordinance was passed on to all carers in the country in order to support the clergy in implementing the ordinance. Nevertheless, a new Samson figure was made in Tamsweg in 1798. The parade with the figure of Samson was separated from the procession and moved to the afternoon of the festive season. In 1802, the lawyer and constitutional lawyer from Salzburg, Konrad Hartleben, wrote a diatribe about the Lungau figures of Samson in the magazine Deutsche Justiz- und Polizey-Fama . He described the figure as a monster that cost 100 guilders, criticized, among other things, that she begged and with the money begged with half compulsion or from the market treasury had collected an incredible 200 guilders. This called the government of the archbishopric of Salzburg, the so-called highly commendable court counselor , who requested a report from the carers and magistrates of the places with Samson parades. For the places Mauterndorf, Kendelbruck and Muhr, this is the first written mention of the Samson custom there. Even if the magistrates and nurses expressed themselves in their answers mostly positive in terms of the Samson figures, the highly commendable court councilor in Salzburg issued the final and final ban on the Lungau figures of Samson on 23 May 1803.

In the Lungau as elsewhere, all those who could be hidden in good time before the prescribed delivery or to which the population was particularly attached and therefore hid them and protected them from destruction survived in processional props. In the Attach Colloredo you will find the levels of the prohibitions for the abolition of customs. Since the population always had a sense of spectacle, since roles in the processions were also honorary roles and trials of strength that were important to the people, it is understandable that Samson and his companions were hidden and preserved. The Krakaudorfer Samson thus survived the Josephine draft in a hay barn.

How the Samson figures in Tamsweg, St. Michael, Mauterndorf and Muhr survived the years of prohibition, why they were the only processional figures to survive the years of prohibition and how the Samson custom in its current form as secular custom in the middle of the 19th century is today no longer completely comprehensible.

In Tamsweg it is described by Ignaz von Kürsinger in 1853 , in St. Michael, despite the ban in 1844, an honor dance with the figure of Samson was performed in honor of Emperor Ferdinand during his visit to St. Michael. The year 1859 brought the official revival by resolution of the local council. A Samson figure from Mauterndorf from around 1900 is in the Salzburg Museum Carolino Augusteum. In Krakaudorf, Styria, the Samson custom remained alive in the early 19th century or a replica of a Lungau Samson figure may have just begun.

Revival of the Samson traditions

While the four particularly traditional Samson figures from Tamsweg, St. Michael, Mauterndorf and Muhr were rehabilitated around 1900, the following period brought an initially slow increase in the figures through the resumption of a documented or suspected tradition :

• Unterberg: from around 1900, last worn in St. Margareten in 1927, with a new figure again from 1954 (or according to another source 1952, see below)
• St. Andrä: 1908, on the occasion of a wedding, after that only individual moves can be proven. Renovated in 1983 - with old head and new hull. New clothing and founding of a Samson group in 2002. Two dwarfs since 2005.
• St. Margareten: 1927 short guest performance by the former Unterberger Samsons, then lost - with a new figure from 2001
• Mariapfarr: 1937 new building of a Samson figure
• Ramingstein / Kendelbruck: from 1948/49 to 1958. Samson figure preserved in Murau. New inclusion with new figures from 1992. Dwarfs since 1997/98.
• Murau: 1966 new figure with head of the former Ramingsteiner Samsons, 2005 second figure with trunk of the former Ramingsteiner Samsons figure
• Wölting: 2000 new building of a Samson figure and two dwarfs

During the time of National Socialism , the Samson figures were rejected by the National Socialists as a custom with church origins and were partially damaged. There were no Samson parades during this time, or only in exceptional cases.

Samson figures in the present

Samson parades, Samson meetings and other appearances

Standard bearer of the child riflemen at the Mauterndorf Samson parade

Mauterndorf Citizens Guard during the Samson parade in 2007

Samson parades take place after the Corpus Christi procession, on Prangtag (patronage festival / patronage festival ) and, depending on the location, on one or two other occasions such as fire brigade festivals or markets between Corpus Christi and Almabtrieb Journeys take the Samson figures to Samson meetings that take place at intervals of several years in Lungau, the provincial capitals ( Salzburg and Graz ) and Cologne, as well as recently also to partner locations from community partnerships and to huge meetings in Catalonia , northern France and Belgium .

A Samson parade takes up to three hours in Lungau and covers a distance of up to three kilometers. The Samson figure is carried by one person from station to station through the entire route. It is usually between two and five helpers, Aufhaber or Haberer called supported. It is accompanied by brass music and - if available - by figures of a male and a female dwarf, the shooters and other groups. At each station, the Samson figure dances at least once in honor of a person for whom this honor costs a donation. Speeches are given at some stations and - if available - shooters and traditional costume groups perform. Ideally, the stations of the Samson parade are located at inns, where their hosts have the honor of supplying the people involved in the Samson parade with drinks. In addition to the large parades, some of the Samson characters also move out in the context of morning pints, fire brigade festivals and tattoos. The performances are then much shorter, about an hour. The two Styrian Samson figures move out - apart from Samson meetings - in their place only once a year on the respective Prangtag. The focus is not so much on the train through the place, but on the up to 200 dances of honor for a large number of people to be honored who have earned the powder money . The Samson figure dances to them different melodies, including a brisk polka. The event can extend over a period of up to 5 hours. In Krakaudorf, Mauterndorf, Murau, St. Michael and Tamsweg, there are traditional civil guards , which, with the exception of Tamsweg, are an integral part of the Samson parades. In Lungau, salutes are shot at about every station, and at the end of short parades. In Styria, every honor dance ends with a thundering gun salute.

A Samson meeting takes place almost every year, usually on the occasion of an anniversary in the location of the inviting Samson group. Every six years, e.g. B. 2011 the big festival of Lungau folk culture takes place. In this context there is a Samson meeting with all 12 Samson figures.

Since 2009, efforts have been made to propose the giant Lungau figure Samson along with four other Salzburg customs for the UNESCO list of cultural traditions. A first step was the envisaged inclusion in the register of the intangible cultural heritage of Austria in 2010. The Samson wear in Lungau and Murau district was added to the list of intangible cultural heritage in Austria (national UNESCO list) in 2010 . At the festival of Lungau folk culture on September 4, 2011, the UNESCO certificates were ceremoniously handed over to all Samson groups.

Music for the Samson parade

Trachtenmusikkapelle Mariapfarr with the Mariapfarrer Samson figure

The Samson figure is accompanied by the brass band of the respective location during their move . This is called in St. Michael, Tamsweg and Mauterndorf Bürgerermusik, in Wölting village music, in Murau, Musikverein Stadtkapelle Murau , in the other places a music band or traditional costume band.

The marching band always leads the way through the town and plays traditional marches by Austrian composers. There is no set sequence. Popular marches are, for example, “Mein Heimatland” by Sepp Neumayer, “Rainer Marsch” by Hans Schmid or the “Kitzbühler Standschützen March” by Georg Kaltschmied.

The Samson Waltz in honor of important (and also paying people) is a tribute - usually a slow waltz is intoned. Usually different Samson waltzes are played during a parade. The first part of the “Almrauschwalzers” by the composer E. Trojan and a Samson Waltz composed by the former Ramingstein priest, Father Paul Mitterndorfer, are popular. In Wölting, the Samson Waltz, composed by the founder of the village music band Anton Bayer vulgo Lenzen Toni, which developed from the melody of the hymn Lieb Jesulein komm zu mir , will be played. A Samson waltz composed by the bandmasters themselves is played in St. Margarethen, for example. Sometimes different Samson Waltzes are played during a parade.

Release dates

Samson parade in Mauterndorf around 1980. The Samson figure is the predecessor of today's and is now in the Lungau Landscape Museum at Mauterndorf Castle

The Samson season runs from late May to early October. Traditionally, it starts with the parades in the afternoon of Corpus Christi, the last parade is on the first Sunday of October together with the David and Goliath game in Ramingstein. The Samson figure moves out for the Samson parades on festive days. In addition, it can be seen at some festivals such as the Ramingsteiner Silbermarkt, the Tamsweg Forest Festival, inaugurations and autumn festivals. It moves out when high-ranking people visit the respective location and also comes to the swearing-in of the recruits of Austria's armed forces . During the season, at least one Samson figure moves out almost every weekend in Lungau and neighboring Styria, usually on Sunday afternoons, sometimes on Friday or Saturday evenings. In the description of the individual Samson figures below, the regular release dates are listed. Sometimes they are postponed to the previous Saturday or to another day.

The Samson parades like (most) festivals can be visited without admission. There are no barriers and everything is freely accessible. The police operation is limited to regulating traffic. The highlights are the big Samson parades in Mauterndorf and Tamsweg. Samson parades in smaller places have a very strong character of a festival by and for locals, but guests from outside are always welcome.

personification

In the Lungau people do not speak of Samson figures , but of Samson . plural: Samsone . In local parlance, this personification causes the Samson to march, dance the Samson Waltz and pay respects to recruits of the armed forces and high-ranking people. This personalization is also retained in the written language.

Samson figures and Samson usage in museums

Regardless of the disengagement, the following Samson figures can be viewed:

• A significant part of the Waltlhaus village museum in Krakaudorf is dedicated to the Samson customs. All Austrian characters are also described.
• The Tamsweg Samson figure is based in the Tamsweg Local History Museum and can be viewed as part of a museum tour from June 1st to September 15th and on days with special tours.
• The Samsons von Muhr and St. Andrä, the latter together with his dwarfs, live in a Samson tower in which they can be admired all year round through a large pane of glass.
• The Samsons from Murau have their quarters in a specially built wooden house near the Friesacher Tor. They can be viewed through several windows.
• The predecessor of today's Mauterndorf Samsons from 1912/1949 is in the Lungau Landscape Museum in Mauterndorf Castle and can be viewed there almost all year round during the castle's opening times (see also the historical picture on the right of a move from 1980).
• Samson from around 1890, who came to the Salzburg Museum Carolino Augusteum today Salzburg Museum around 1920, can be viewed together with two dwarfs in its folklore branch, the Folklore Museum Salzburg in the Hellbrunn Monthly Palace from April to October. In contrast to the dwarfs currently in use, only the front half of the dwarfs is executed.

Samson figure in the Lungau Landscape Museum

Pictures of the Samson figure and his dwarfs in the Salzburg Museum:

• 

  Male dwarf

• 

  Samson figure

• 

  Head of the Samson figure

• 

  Female dwarf

Description of the individual figures

Overview of the figures

place	First written mention	Current Samson figure from	size	Weight	Dwarf figures	Fixed release dates
Ath	1679	1806	4.3 meters	127 kilograms	No dwarfs	only at the Ducasse Festival
Krakaudorf	1809 (or younger)	1914	6 meters	75 kilograms	No dwarfs	Prangtag of St. Oswald, celebrated on the first Sunday in August
Mariapfarr	1935	1950	6.8 meters	86 kilograms	Two dwarfs, man and woman in traditional Lungau costume	2nd Sunday after Corpus Christi, two evening events in July, August 15, at the end of August for the Harvest Festival , special occasions
Mauterndorf	1802	Head in polyester casting: 1990, frame: 1993	5 meters	75 kilograms	Two dwarfs, man and woman	3rd Sunday in June, 3rd Sunday in July, 15th August, 1st Sunday in September
Muhr	1802	1991 (torso), head older	meter	75 kilograms	No dwarfs	June 29th (Peter and Paul Day), beginning of August, Ruperti Day (Sunday before or after September 24th), Thanksgiving Day (with maypole cutting)
Murau	1748	1960 (Samson I) and 2005 (Samson II)	5 meters	70 kg (Samson 1) 60 kg (Samson 2)	No dwarfs	15th of August
Ramingstein	1802	1992 (dwarfs from 1997/1998)	5.5 meters	80 kilograms	Two dwarfs, Achatz and Marie. Achatz in miner's costume. Marie in a dirndl.	Ramingsteiner Silbermarkt (2nd Sunday in July every 2 years) and Kendlbrucker Prangtag, (1st Sunday in July)
Sankt Andrä im Lungau	1908	1983 (frame), 1905 (head), renovated 1983 and 2002, 2004 (dwarfs)	5.6 meters	80 kilograms	Two dwarfs, a hammerwoman and a blacksmith	Irregular (around four times between June and September)
Sankt Margarethen im Lungau	1927	2001	6.1 meters	95 kilograms (as of 2009)	No dwarfs	Corpus Christi, Prangtag (around the 4th Sunday in July), beginning of August
Sankt Michael im Lungau	1754	Baroque	4.5 meters	64 kilograms	No dwarfs	Corpus Christi, August 15 (in Katschberg), Prangtag: Sunday before or after September 29, further parades at local festivals: Harvest Festival, morning pint of the citizens' music etc.
Tamsweg	In 1720 a man is mentioned who was a carrier of Samson for 32 years.	In the core including the head from the Baroque period (?). Dwarfs from 1802/03 and 1844.	6.1 meters	103.5 kilograms before the renovation in the 1980s, 88 kilograms	Two dwarfs, man and woman in traditional Lungau costume. Formerly two female dwarfs.	(after) Corpus Christi, 4th Saturday and Sunday in July, 1st Sunday in August (Forest Festival)
Unterberg	1954 (new Samson)	1954	5 meters	75 kilograms	Two dwarfs (man and woman) since August 2013	Early June, 1st Sunday in July, mid-September
Wölting (municipality of Tamsweg )	2000 (according to legend, however, first Samson privilege in Lungau)	2000	6.3 meters	93 kilograms	Two dwarfs	2–3 times a year

Ath

The Samson of Ath in Belgium

Ath is known as the city ​​of giants . At the Ducasse Festival, which takes place every year on the fourth weekend in August, a Samson figure is carried along with many other giant figures. The Ath giants are on the UNESCO Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage List .

The Samson was introduced into the retinue of the Ducasse d'Ath in 1679 as a giant of the Brotherhood of Gunners. From these years one can read in the reports from ma mansarderie that the magistrate of the city made available a sum in silver “for the brothers (confrères) cannoniers of sainte-Marguerite [...] to raise Samson”. A giant Samson may have participated in the procession earlier, perhaps since the 15th century, but there is no written evidence of this.

After being destroyed along with the other giants at the behest of the French government during the French Revolution in 1794, it has reappeared since the procession resumed in 1806. Like his companions, the Blue Group, he has been dressed as a French soldier since the 19th century . According to the biblical description, Samson carries the pillar of the Temple of Dagon and the donkey jaws. It has been followed by the Moulbaix fanfare since the interwar period.

While the head and upper body of the other giants are carved from linden wood, only the face of this Samson is made of wood. The figure consists of a slatted frame and is covered with painted canvas. She wears a blue robe with red cuffs and two red skirt tails, red, fringed shoulder pieces, copper buttons, yellow waistcoat and black sash, a black bicorn with a gold border, a cockade in the Belgian national colors, a multicolored plume. The gloves are light brown (formerly yellow), the skirt is blue, the hair black, and he wears a mustache and goatee in the style of Napoleon III. In her hands she holds a column made of marble replica and a brown donkey cheek.

Play media file The Samson of Ath 2006

Krakaudorf

Samson figure from Krakaudorf

On the afternoon of St. Oswald, the Prangtag ( patronage festival) in Krakaudorf (celebrated on the 1st Sunday in August), the figure of Samson moves through the town. The first Krakow figure of Samson was created after 1809 by the Italian-born Johann Turass. After 100 years, the figure was destroyed in a fire in the Gasthaus Bale. The second figure, popularly known as the Grauperte , was much ridiculed because of its deformity and only had a short lifespan. The current character Samson the Third was created in 1914 by N. Neumann vulgo Pistrich.

The Samson figure has been kept in the "House of Folk Culture" since 1975. Sometimes she travels: she was seen at Samson meetings in Lungau and several times in Graz.

In the village museum in the Waltlhaus, a 400 year old farm in the center of the village, a large room is dedicated to the figures of Samson.

Play media file Samson Festival in Krakaudorf for Prangtag 2010

Mariapfarr

Mariaparrer Samson figure with female dwarf

Male dwarf

The first reference to a Samson in Mariapfarr comes from 1914. Witnesses remembered a Samson who is said to have burned in 1914 along with the yard in which it was stored. The current Samson tradition goes back to Pastor Stöckl, 1928–1936 cooperator (chaplain) in Mariapfarr. His goal was to revive the Samson custom in the original parish of Lungau. The first figure of Samson, completed in 1937, was largely made by the theater-loving boys' association. The head fabricated by Professor August Schreilechner, an art teacher with summer quarters in Gröbendorft, however, was not convincing. It is described by contemporary witnesses as "not very beautiful, not to say gruesome". The slim figure, however, had the advantage of not being sensitive to wind.

The Samson figure survived the Second World War unscathed, but after a fall in the summer of 1949 it could no longer be saved. In the same year a new giant figure was built. This initially weighed 105 kilograms - 40 more than its predecessor. She wore scale armor made of copper and aluminum. After renovation work, the weight was reduced by 20 kilograms. The Samson figure is the only one without a donkey cheekbone. It is kept in the fire station and can be seen from the outside through the upper entrance.

The Mariapfarrer Samson Group was the first with major international activities. While Samson figures used to travel to the respective capital for guest celebrations, the Mariapfarrer Samson group accepted - after the hesitation of the more traditional Samson groups - in 1982 an invitation to a giant meeting in Matadepera , northwest of Barcelona in Catalonia. In the following year some Catalan giants from Matadepera came to Mariapfarr. This established a parish partnership, and many more mutual visits followed. In 1992 - to the second Trobada Internacional de Gegants  - the Unterberg Samson and traditional costume band were also taken along. 1994 took place. In 2007 the Mariaparrer Samson group traveled to Matadepera. Further meetings with Lungauer Samsonen and Catalan giant figures took place in Marapfarr in 1994 and 2002. On May 1st to 3rd, 2009 the 25th anniversary of the parish partnership in Mariapfarr was celebrated with all Lungau figures of Samson and many giants from Matadepera. The Mariapfarrer Samson group aroused displeasure when, in January 1996 - outside of the Samson season - at the opening of the Samson six-seater chairlift in the Lungau ski area Fanningberg, accompanied by the Göriach band, they let their Samson figure dance.

Play media file Big Samson parade in Mariapfarr on the evening of July 20, 2007, 1st part

Play media file Big Samson parade in Mariapfarr on the evening of July 20, 2007, part 2

Mauterndorf

Mauterndorf Samson

The dwarves of Mauterndorf Samsons

The Samson figure from Muhr

The first written testimony about the Mauterndorf figure of Samson comes from 1802, as with many others, from the time of the ban on Samson. How long the Mauterndorfers had to adhere to this ban is not known. The first evidence of the Maunterndorf Samson tradition is a Samson figure with two dwarfs from the late 19th century in the Carolino Augusteum Museum in Salzburg. It can be viewed in the Hellbrunn Monthly Palace , the folklore branch of the Salzburg Museum , formerly Salzburg Museum Carolino Augusteum.

In the 20th century there was an almost continuous Samson tradition. The Samson figure was renovated several times based on the example of the specimen in Salzburg. In a photo from 1902 he can be seen with two dwarfs who were probably burned with the Samson figure from 1912. After the fire in 1912, it was renovated by the Beautification Association with the support of the then owner of Mauterndorf Castle, Count Eppenstein. At the instigation of the tourist association, two new dwarfs (Mandl and Weibl) were created based on the Tamsweg figures in 1936. What makes them special is that they can roll with their movable eyes. In 1949 - after the Second World War - the traditional costume association tried to revitalize it. A Samson move in 1960 is documented by a newspaper report. In 1979 the Samson figure got a new dress, in 1990 the paper mache head was replaced by a polyester casting. In 1993 the frame was renewed. The predecessor of today's Samson figure can be viewed in the Lungau Landscape Museum in the south tower of Mauterndorf Castle during the castle's opening hours. (As of July 2008) The video shows the big Samson parade in July 2007 of the Samson group together with the historic Mauterndorf Citizens Guard, the traditional costume group and the Mauterndorfer Schrefelschützen.

Play media file Big Samson parade in Mauterndorf on July 15, 2007, 1st part

Play media file Big Samson parade in Mauterndorf on July 15, 2007, part 2

Muhr

As with many other Samson figures, the Muhr tradition of Samson can be archived back to the Samson prohibitions of 1802. It has not been proven whether there was an interruption in the moves during the time of the Samson ban. There were no Samson parades during World War II. After that, the Samson figure also traveled several times to festivals in Salzburg, the first time in 1967 on the roof of a post bus. It has been looked after by a chairman since 1963. From 1991 to 2014 the Samson figure was kept in an outbuilding of the rectory. On June 7, 2014, a new Samson tower was inaugurated below the church . The Samson figure can be seen there through a large pane of glass.

The Muhrer Samson figure is a mildly smiling, upward-looking friendly giant who was given a new body and coat in 1991. In 1990, when the schoolhouse in Muhr was demolished, an old Samson head was found in its attic. This find was dated to the 19th century.

Murau

Samson I von Murau in front of the town hall, 2014

Samson II von Murau at the giant meeting in Steenvoorde (Northern France), April 2006

The Samson custom can be traced in Murau since 1746. At that time, a Samson figure was bought for 24 guilders from the Tamsweg Frohnleichnam Brotherhood. After the time of the Samson ban, the Samson custom was not revived until 1966: A pharmacist had brought the desolate Samson figure from Ramingstein to Murau in 1948/49 and had a new body made for the still usable head. The old hull was rediscovered in 2005 and a new head was added. Murau is the only place to have two Samson figures. In the older Samson figure - also known as Gardesamson I - it is the head, in the younger Samson figure - also known as Gardesamson II - the torso. The Samson figures can only be seen in Murau on Prangtag , August 15th. When moving, Samson I is usually used, Samson II is waiting at the fairground. When traveling to foreign missions, however, the dismantlable Samson II is preferred (see video).

Play media file Samson I at the Samson parade August 15, 2014

Play media file Samson II von Murau on a visit to Steenvoorde in April 2006

Ramingstein and Kendelbruck

Samson from Ramingstein moving to Kendelbruck

Dwarf Achaz

The oldest source about the Samson figure of the Ramingsteiner district Kendelbruck is a loss report: In the report of the nurse to the Holy Councilor in 1803 it is stated that the Kendelbrucker Samson no longer shows himself. It disappeared due to the bans of 1784 or the loss of importance of the place due to the cessation of the previously extremely profitable mining at the beginning of the 19th century.

The first serious attempt to revive the Samson usage in Ramingstein took place in 1948/49. With the help of his son and daughter-in-law, Johann Aigner made a figure of Samson with two dwarfs. On the Achatius-Prangtag, for the patronage of Ramingstein, a parade was carried out with this figure. Until 1958, the Samson figure was carried through the town on the Prangtage. A major problem, however, was the question of where to live. When kept in an ox barn, it was gnawed by mice in such a way that it could no longer be used. In this condition the figure was discovered by the pharmacist Mag. Gasteiger and taken to Murau. Both Murauer Samson figures go back to them (see there for details).

The Ramingstein mountain rescue team gave the impetus to revive the Samson custom. Under Günter Reithofer, a new, very modern Samson was built. In 1991/92 the mountain rescue team created a new Samson figure in the course of the load transfer (custom to change mayor), which was supplemented by two dwarfs in 1997/98. As a specialty, the two dwarfs of Samsons have the names of the patrons of the two churches in the parish: Achatz and Marie. The former has the appearance of a miner, which is derived from the mining tradition of the place.

Play media file Performance of Samson on Prangtag in Kendelbruck July 7th, 2008 - Part 1

Play media file Performance of Samson on Prangtag in Kendelbruck July 7th, 2008 - part 2

Play media file Samson performed on July 8, 2007 at the silver market at Finstergrün Castle

The Samson figure of St. Andrä with her dwarfs

Sankt Andrä im Lungau

The Samson tradition began in St. Andrä in 1908. On the occasion of his daughter's wedding, a carpenter from Lessach carved a Samson head that is still used for today's Samson figure. According to other sources, the head came from Muhr to St Andrä on this occasion. In the following years the figure was used for Samson parades. Movements from around 1920, around 1930, 1970, 1980 and 1981 are documented by photos. The figure was a private samson of the Andlwirt in St. Andrä for a long time. Since there was no music band in St. Andrä, one from a neighboring town had to be hired for the performances of the Samson figure.

The Samson figure was renovated in 1983 and 2002. In 2002 the Samson figure was clad in blue. In that year the Samson group St. Andrä also joined the Lungau Gauverband.

In 2003 the St. Andrä music band was founded. Since then, she has accompanied the Samson figure during the moves. In 2004 two dwarfs (hammer woman and blacksmith) were added. A Samson group, organized as an association, has existed in St. Andrä since spring 2007. In 2011, a new Samson tower was built next to the municipal office. The Samson figure can be seen there together with her dwarfs through a large pane of glass.

Play media file Samson parade in St. Andrae, July 12, 2008, 1st part

Play media file Samson parade in St. Andrae, July 12, 2008, part 2

Sankt Margarethen im Lungau

The Samson figure from St. Margarethen in Lungau

Holders, Samson bearer feet and traditional music band

At the end of the 1920s, the Samson figure from the community of Unternberg came to St. Margarethen and was stored in the Moarhaus . It appeared occasionally in St. Margarethen and then disappeared.

Since the 1970s there have been ideas to bring the Samson custom back to life. These activities were not put into concrete terms until the official Samson meeting on December 1, 2000. Under the motto “Groaß muaß a nit sei, oba schea!”, The construction of the Samson figure based on a drawing by Reinfried Schröcker began. After some parts had been made significantly lighter, it was presented to the public on time on the eve of the Prangtag ( patronage festival ) on July 14, 2001. The first parade took place on the afternoon of the following day. It was rebuilt again in the winter of 2006/07 and its weight was considerably reduced by installing a frame made of light metal.

Play media file Big Samson parade in St. Margarethen on Prangtag (patronage festival) July 20, 2008 part 1

Play media file Big Samson parade in St. Margarethen on Prangtag (patronage festival) July 20, 2008 part 2

Play media file Performance by Samson von St. Margarethen on July 22, 2007 - due to a storm, no move was possible

Sankt Michael im Lungau

Samson figure from St. Michael

At 4.5 meters tall and weighing 64 kilograms, the St. Michael Samson figure is one of the smallest but also one of the most traditional Samson figures. Its special characteristic is the curved body with a baroque tendril pattern. It is first proven in 1754 with an invoice from the Samson carrier. In the following year, the old Samson figure was sold and a new one was created by the master carpenter Josef Merl. Community records show their continued use in the following years.

How far the custom remained alive during the years of the Samson prohibitions cannot be verified with certainty. Even if officially still banned, the Samson figure danced in front of Emperor Ferdinand when he visited St. Michael in 1844. It was not until 1859 that the Samson custom was brought back into official customs by a resolution of the local council. The oldest picture of a Samson figure at all shows the St. Michael Samson parade of 1870. From the late 19th century onwards, many photos exist. Today there are Samson parades and other appearances of the Samson figure several times a year. In mid-August, the Samson parade takes place on the occasion of Prangtag in the Katschberg district. Sometimes the Samson group takes part in Samson meetings. The figure is namesake of the sports event Samsonman .

Play media file Samson parade in St. Michael for the morning pint of the citizens' music, 25 July 2010

Tamsweg

Tamsweger Samsonfigur on the market square

Citizen music with Samson figure

The Tamsweger Samson figure is the best documented Samson figure. The former Tamsweg Capuchin monastery and its baroque processions on Corpus Christi and Prangtag are considered to be the origin of the Tamsweg custom of Samson. The figure of Samson was part of a baroque procession with many other biblical figures. These processions are documented for Tamsweg for the period from 1690 to 1720. In 1720 the death of a Samson carrier is mentioned in the death register, who carried out this activity for 32 years.

From the time of the Samson ban, it should be mentioned that the abovementioned humiliation by Professor Hartleben primarily referred to Samson from Tamsweg. A defense letter from market judge Peter Prandstätter was forwarded to the Holy Councilor by the nurse Ferdinand von Piehl with disparaging remarks , which, as shown above, ultimately led to the ban on the use of Samson. Amazingly, the two originally female dwarfs are mentioned for the first time in 1802/03, i.e. during the time of the Samson ban. It is possible that the Samson prohibitions were not enforceable in politically very troubled times and during the multiple changes of ownership of the Lungau (Archdiocese of Salzburg, Archduchy of Tuscany, Bavaria, Austria).

The head survived the fire of 1893, which destroyed a large part of the village, but not the trunk, which was housed in another house. In the years of emergency that followed, the Samson custom was forgotten. After the turn of the century, a farmhand named Sepp Sauschneider who worked in Stranach-Pichl made a new body. This was taken to Tamsweg with the recently inaugurated Murtalbahn and welcomed with a party. The builder also made a name for himself as a Samson bearer, because he always swung the Samson diagonally over the water on the Mur Bridge . After Tamsweg was first electrified with overhead lines, the Samson figure had to be shortened by one meter.

For the time of National Socialism, it is said that the Samson figure danced in front of Field Marshal Hermann Göring , the owner of Mauterndorf Castle at the time, with a swastika flag as a coat. Nevertheless, the custom came to a standstill, as the Nazis regarded Samson figures as a biblical appearance. The figure was later demolished by boys of the Hitler Youth quartered next to her in the attic .

In 1945 the head was almost carried away as a war trophy. Already loaded onto an English military jeep, it could be brought to safety at the last minute. In 1950, for the 700th anniversary of Tamsweg , the Samson figure was carried up to the pilgrimage church of St. Leonhard, high above the Tamsweg market.

There have been two accidents since the Second World War: in 1972 the figure fell in a gust of wind on Jakobi- Prangtag . The porter got away with the horror, the head was caught and thus saved. The body was damaged and had to be restored. In 1996 there was another accident: the Samson carrier stumbled on the milled asphalt. The keeper was able to catch the Samson, but the Samson carrier had torn a ligament.

Of all the Samson figures, the Tamsweger moves out the most: Corpus Christi, Prangtag, forest festival, before the traditional big tattoo in July, autumn festival for the cattle drive, etc. Samson figures and dwarfs can be viewed during the opening times in the Tamsweg Museum of Local History. It can also be seen on special occasions in Tamsweg's twin town Iseo . As a special feature, the Samson figure can turn its head.

Play media file Samson parade in Tamsweg on the evening of July 21, 2007

Play media file Big Samson parade in Tamsweg on July 25, 2010

Unterberg

Unterberg: Samson I from 1900

Unterberg: Samson II from 1952

The origins of the Unterberger Samson figure go back to a story from 1900. This year, under the impression of the Tamsweg Samson parade, two boys built a children's Samson and after moving with him in the home garden, they ordered a head for a Samson from the "Bethmacher" in Tamsweg, a craftsman who made dummies, larvae and the like about four meters high. The bill of 20 kroner and 50 hellers initially caused a catastrophe at home, but prompted the fathers to take the initiative to build the Samson building, and in 1900, Unternberg saw the arrival of the first Samson figure (Samson I). This was in use for 14 years and was inherited after the First World War in St. Margareten, where it was worn for the last time in 1927.

The trigger for the creation of the second Samson figure (Samson II) in 1952 (according to another source 1954) was the memory of Franz Gfrerer, one of the boys from Samson I during a visit to his parents' house. At that time he was living in Vienna and promised to get a head for a new Samson there.

Today's Samson figure is five meters tall and weighs 75 kilograms. It occurs every year in honor of St. Ulrich in July, at an evening parade in August and at the Harvest Festival in September. A special feature of the Unterberger Samson figure is that it can salute with the right hand. The Unterberger Samson figure accompanied the Samson figure from Mariapfarr to the second giant meeting in Matadepera / Catalonia .

Since August 2013, the new designed dwarfs "Rosl" and "Toni" have accompanied Samson from the Unterberg.

Play media file Some Samson waltzes on July 15, 2007 at the musical morning pint in Unterberg

Wölting

Today Wölting is a village divided between two communities. The much larger part is a district of Tamsweg , the smaller district west of the Lessach is part of Sankt Andrä im Lungau . According to legend, it is the oldest custom of Samson there. Afterwards, the Wöltingen people were awarded the Samson privilege by an archbishop for their particular bravery in a successful battle against the Duchess Margaret of Tyrol .

The current Samson tradition dates back to 2000. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the village community, the Samson figure and the two dwarfs were built exclusively by Wöltingers on their own within just two months and presented on August 29 and 20, 2000. At that time she weighed 101 kilograms. It was "made easier" by a renovation in the following winter. A new head was made by Alois Tartner.

Two to three times a year the Wöltingen Samson group moves out to carry the giant figure through the village and make it dance the Samson waltz.

See also

• Gigantes y Cabezudos
• Shirt glonker removals

literature

Austria:

• K. Beitl: The social giants . Notring publishing house of the Austrian scientific associations, Vienna 1961, DNB  450336530 .
• Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the magazine Salzburger Volkskultur. Anton Pustet, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 .

• Lungau folk culture: The Lungau Samsone . (Overview of all Lungau Samsonse).

• Salzburg folk culture: two new giants in Lungau. Supplementary volume to the aforementioned book Giant. Anton Pustet, Salzburg (around 2004).
• Ernestine Hutter: Folklore Collections, Salzburg Museum Carolino Augusteum . Hofstetter-Dia, Ried im Innkreis 1986, DNB  890661340 .
• Ignaz von Kürsinger : Lungau. Historically, ethnographically and statistically from previously unused documentary sources . Oberersche Buchhandlung, Salzburg 1853 ( limited preview in the Google book search - reprint: Österreichischer Kunst- und Kulturverlag, 1981, ISBN 3-85437-002-4 ).
• Peter Rottensteiner, Gerald Lerchner: Chronicle Samson St. Andrä . St. Andrä im Lungau 2006.
• Lungau tourist association: Mountains of holiday happiness, summer journal . 2008 (Contains the most complete overview of the release dates of the Lungau Samsonse).

Belgium:

• Ministère de la Communauté française .: Les géants processionnels en Europe. Ouvrage collectif, catalog de l'exposition du 500e anniversaire du Goliath d'Ath. 1981.
• René Meurant: Géants processionnels et de cortège en Europe, en Belgique, en Wallonie . Commission royale Belge de Folklore (section wallonne), Collection Folklore et Art populaire, VI, Brussels 1979.
• René Meurant: Géants de Wallonie . Duculot, Wallonie et Histoire, Gembloux 1975.

media

• The Murau Samson parade on August 15, 1930s (may not show the Murau Samson, but the Samson of Krakaudorf in the Murau district)
• Prangtag and Samson parade in Unterberg 1968

Web links

Commons : Giant  album with pictures, videos and audio files

Commons : Samsonfigur  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Dates, overview:

• Website of the Lungau holiday region with current Samson dates - only in Lungau directly to the calendar
• Website of the Lungau folk culture with current Samson appointments directly to the appointment calendar

Websites of the places with the Samson tradition (history, dates):

• The Krakow Samson ( Memento of December 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
• The priest of Mary Samson
• Samson from Murau
• The Ramingsteiner Samson
• The Tamsweger Samson
• The Samson from Wölting
• Site of the Belgian figure of Samson (French)

Others:

• School project on Muhrer Samson ( Memento from May 7, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 8.9 MB)
• Site des porteurs du géant Samson d'Ath

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Samsontouses in Lungau and Murau district ( Memento from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) , National Agency for Intangible Cultural Heritage, Austrian Commission for UNESCO
2. ↑ K. Beitl: The colloquial giants . Notring publishing house of the Austrian scientific associations, Vienna 1961, DNB  450336530 . , P. 5.
3. ↑ K. Beitl: The colloquial giants . Notring publishing house of the Austrian scientific associations, Vienna 1961, DNB  450336530 . , Pp. 9-34, 122, 144.
4. ↑ David and Goliath game in Ramingstein. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 20, 2006 ; Retrieved September 14, 2008 .  and K. Beitl: The colloquial giants . Notring publishing house of the Austrian scientific associations, Vienna 1961, DNB  450336530 . , P. 24.
5. ↑ Observation of the Samson figure and information from the Samson group Mariapfarr that their Samson had never had such a bone (as of July 2008)
6. ↑ Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold: Riesen, special issue in the form of a book in the magazine Salzburger Volkskultur. Anton Pustet, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 . and Salzburg folk culture: two new giants in Lungau. Supplementary volume to the aforementioned book Giant . Anton Pustet, Salzburg (around 2004).
7. ↑ Details on this in the description of the individual figures below
8. ↑ K. Beitl: The colloquial giants . Notring publishing house of the Austrian scientific associations, Vienna 1961, DNB  450336530 . , Pp. 22-26.
9. ↑ Mistretta #Festa della Madonna della luce in Italian-speaking Wikipedia; as well as videos of the procession of lights on youtube: procession of lights at the festival madonna della luce 2006. Accessed on September 21, 2008 .  and from the dance of the giants dance of the giants at the Festa della Madonna della luce in Mistretta. Retrieved September 21, 2008 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b} Lucia Luidold: The Muhrer Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 56 ff .
11. ↑ According to Dr. Ulrike Kammerhofer-Aggermann, head of the institute, Salzburg State Institute for Folklore, Office of the Salzburg State Government; October 2008
12. ^ Johanna Moser: The ritualists in the "Viennese mythological school" or ritualists and men's associations . In: Ulrike Kammerhofer-Aggermann and Lucia Luidold (eds.): Customs in the Salzburger Land . 2000 pieces. In Family and Society, CD-ROM Part 3, SBzVK 16, No. 16 . Salzburger Landesinstitut für Volkskunde, self-published, ISBN 3-901681-07-8 ., Salzburg 2005, ISBN 3-901681-07-8 . as well as Olaf Bockhorn: German with all his ethnic forces: Germanic-German folklore in Vienna. Monograph. In: W. Jacobeit, H. Lixfeld, O.Bockhorn (Hrsg.): Völkische Wissenschaft . Böhlau 1994, ISBN 3-205-98208-8 . , Helmut Eberhart: From devout science to the ancestral legacy of the SS: Salzburg and National Socialist folklore . In: W. Jacobeit, H. Lixfeld, O.Bockhorn (Hrsg.): Völkische Wissenschaft. Vienna . Böhlau, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-205-98208-8 , pp. 549-558 .
13. ^ Richard and Klaus Beitl: Dictionary of German Folklore . Kröner TB, Stuttgart 1974.
14. ↑ This battle only took place in the legend. See the history of Wölting. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 19, 2007 ; Retrieved August 28, 2008 .  after Ignaz von Kürsinger: Lungau. Historically, ethnographically and statistically from previously unused documentary sources . Salzburg 1853.
15. ↑ K. Beitl: The colloquial giants . Notring publishing house of the Austrian scientific associations, Vienna 1961, DNB  450336530 . , Pp. 23-24.
16. ↑ ^{a b} Literature on baroque processional figures in Corpus Christi processions, on the design of the figures, on the typical contents of the figural carriages: Ulrike Aggermann-Bellenberg: The Graz Corpus Christi procession from the time of their creation to the reforms of enlightened absolutism. A folkloric and cultural-historical study of urban popular piety as an expression of the zeitgeist. Inaugural dissertation to obtain a doctorate at Karl-Franzens-Univ. in Graz, Institute for Folklore, presented in October 1982. Graz 1982, p. 417 .
17. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Gertraud Steiner: The Tamsweger Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 19th ff .
18. ↑ by the so-called Holy Consortium
19. ↑ ^{a b} Literature on the Colloredo reforms, bans on processions and processional figures: Ulrike Kammerhofer-Aggermann: "Popular piety" as an expression of the zeitgeist. Church reforms in the spirit of enlightened absolutism in Salzburg as sources and indicators of popular religious practice. In: Rainer Loose (Hrsg.): Church, religious movements, popular piety in the Central Alpine region. Historians' conference in Sigmaringen 11. – 13. May 2000. (= series of publications of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Alpenländer / ARGE Alp-Abhandlungsband, Historikertagung Sigmaringen 2000) . tape 2004 . State Archives Directorate Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 2004, p. 131-169 . and Ulrike Kammerhofer-Aggermann: Popular piety and zeitgeist in the 18th century. Short and long text. In: Ulrike Kammerhofer-Aggermann and Lucia Luidold (eds.): Customs in the Salzburger Land, SBzVK . 2000th edition. 14, CD-ROM 2, No. 14 . Salzburg State Institute for Folklore, Salzburg 2003.
20. ^ Ignaz von Kürsinger : Lungau. Historically, ethnographically and statistically from previously unused documentary sources . Oberersche Buchhandlung, Salzburg 1853, p. 256–259 ( limited preview in the Google book search - reprint of Österreichischer Kunst- und Kulturverlag 1981, ISBN 3-85437-002-4 ).
21. ↑ ^{a b} Gertraud Steiner: The St. Michaeler Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 31-32 .
22. ↑ Chronicle of Samson St. Andrä
23. ↑ A photo of Tamsweg Samson and the citizens' music in front of the Cologne Cathedral can be found on Citizen Music Tamsweg, historical photos. Retrieved December 4, 2015 .  and is dated to 1959.
24. ↑ ^{a b} Lungau information pages. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 8, 2005 ; Retrieved August 18, 2007 .  - No longer available in 2008.
25. ↑ documented by the videos from Mauterndorf, Mariapfarr, St. Margarethen and Tamsweg on this page.
26. ↑ ^{a b} Great Festival of Lungau Folk Culture 2011. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 28, 2011 ; Retrieved August 9, 2011 . 
27. ↑ Well-known tradition but different. Retrieved December 24, 2014 . 
28. ↑ World heritage giant Samson? Archived from the original on September 26, 2010 ; Retrieved April 12, 2010 . 
29. ↑ Samson Treffen Tamsweg 2011 on TV (Festival of Lungau Folk Culture) - ORF news broadcast. Retrieved September 9, 2011 . 
30. ↑ ^{a b} Information from Hans Zechner, Samson Group Ramingstein, August 2008
31. ↑ (Wöltinger) Dorfkmusikkapelle and Samson. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 11, 2007 ; Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
32. ^ Information from members of the TMK St. Margarethen
33. ↑ Calendar in www.lungau.at as of 2007
34. ↑ Samson danced in honor of the recruits (St. Michael). Retrieved August 27, 2008 .  , Himmelschützen, Stachelschützen, Samson and the "Bishop of Lungau" - swearing in Lungau Thomatal. Retrieved August 27, 2008 .  and Tamsweger Samson dances by swearing. Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
35. ^ Museum Tamsweg. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 19, 2007 ; Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
36. ^ Lungau Landscape Museum Mauterndorf. Retrieved December 4, 2015 .  and another page about this museum. Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
37. ↑ Information in the Salzburg Museum, July 2008
38. ↑ Folklore Museum Salzburg. Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
39. ↑ Source: Luidold, Beitl names 4.75 m for the Samson figure, which is now in the Lungau Landscape Museum.
40. ↑ Source: Luidold; according to Beitl is 3.8 meters
41. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chronik Samson, St. Andrä, 2007
42. ^ Budget of the State of Salzburg - Promotion of traditional customs, budget of the State of Salzburg. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on August 21, 2003 ; Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
43. ^ Budget of the State of Salzburg - Promotion of traditional customs, budget of the State of Salzburg. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 15, 2007 ; Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
44. ↑ Source: Steiner, Beitl names 3.5 m
45. ↑ in the death register of the Tamsweg parish
46. ↑ Source: Luidold, Beitl names over 5 m
47. ^ Museum portal Tamsweg 2007. Archived from the original on December 7, 2011 ; Retrieved September 18, 2007 .  - No longer available online after site restructuring in 2008
48. ^ Translation of the text from the corresponding French-language Wikipedia page Samson (Géant processionnel, main author Daniel Leclercq). This cites the works by the Ministère de la Communauté française and René Meurant listed in the bibliography
49. ↑ In some brochures and also on the website www.krakautal.at, Corpus Christi day is implicitly mentioned as the release day. According to information from the Krakautal Tourist Office on August 25, 2008, the Krakow Samson will only be out on the Prang day on the first weekend in August
50. ^ Website of the Krakautal municipality. Let the Samson dance! Retrieved December 4, 2015 .  and Lucia Luidold: The Krakaudorfer Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 68 ff .
51. ↑ Gertraud Steiner: The Mariaparrer Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 41 ff .
52. ^ Observation by the author Helge Rieder in July 2007 and July 2008
53. ↑ Othmar Purkrabek ;: The Samson from Mariapfarr and the giants from Catalonia . In: Salzburger Volkskultur (ed.): Two new giants in the Lungaum Supplementary volume to the above-mentioned book Giant . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg, p. 9 ff . (around 2004).
54. ↑ 25 years of partnership Mariapfarr Matadepera. (PDF) Retrieved June 11, 2009 . 
55. ↑ Wolfgang Bauer: The Samson as an advertising medium . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (eds.): Roland Flomair and Lucia Luidold, Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 82 ff .
56. ↑ Lucia Luidold: The Mauterndorfer Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 35 ff .
57. ↑ New Samson Tower in Muhr. Retrieved December 24, 2014 . 
58. ↑ Gertraud Steiner: The Murauer Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 64 ff . ; A picture with both Samson figures can be found on the website of the Murau Citizens Guard - Samsonumzug. Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
59. ↑ Samson on a premiere tour , ORF report on the 2nd Murauer Samson, the 13th Samson in total
60. ↑ Lungauer Erzwege - mining town Ramingstein. Retrieved September 14, 2008 . 
61. ↑ Description of this local custom on the website of the Ramingstein community. Retrieved December 4, 2015 . 
62. ↑ Gertraud Steiner: The Ramingsteiner / Kendlbrucker Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 51 ff .
63. ↑ Internet presence of the community Ramingstein - community Ramingstein, Samsonseite. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 29, 2007 ; Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
64. ↑ Lucia Luidold: The St. Andräerer Samson - Wastl the Great . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 62 ff .
65. ↑ On the picture of the Samson meeting at the top of this page, the second Samson from the left is the Samson of St. Andrä in 1983 clothing
66. ↑ The new Samson accommodation in Sankt Andrä bei Tamsweg.jpg. Retrieved January 31, 2011 . 
67. ^ Gerhard Wehrberger: The St. Margarethener Samson . In: Salzburger Volkskultur (Ed.): Two new giants in Lungau. Supplementary volume to the aforementioned book Giant . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg, p. 3 ff . (around 2004).
68. ^ Samsonman Marathon. Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
69. ↑ in Beitl it is a goliath carrier, see page 25
70. ↑ Notice of the Samson Group Tamsweg on release dates (as of 2008)
71. ↑ ^{a b} community of Unternberg - Samson. (PDF) Retrieved August 27, 2008 . 
72. ↑ ^{a b} Lucia Luidold: The Unterberger Samson . In: Roland Flomair, Lucia Luidold (Hrsg.): Riesen, special issue in the form of a book of the Salzburger Volkskultur magazine . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg 1996, ISBN 3-7025-0346-3 , p. 59 ff .
73. ^ Community of Unternberg - The giant Samson in Unternberg. Retrieved September 8, 2013 . 
74. ^ Gerhard Wehrberger: The Wöltinger Samson . In: Salzburger Volkskultur (Ed.): Two new giants in Lungau. Supplementary volume to the aforementioned book Giant . Anton Pustet ,, Salzburg, p. 6th ff . (around 2004).

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on September 27, 2008 in this version .