Schwellkopp

The Schwellköpp (High German: swollen heads ) are oversized paper mache heads that are worn and presented by porters on the Mainz Rose Monday procession to loosen up between the individual train numbers. You have been part of the Mainz Carnival since 1927 . The Schwellköpp show, satirically exaggerated, typical physiognomies of Mainz characters of both sexes.

The Mainz sculptor Ludwig Lipp built the first examples . Since carrying the Schwellköpp, which weighs around 25 kilograms, over a seven-kilometer train route is extremely strenuous, the number of volunteer porters became increasingly scarce. Therefore, a group of local patriots gathered at the beginning of the 1990s to cultivate this custom and finally constituted itself officially in 2002 under the name Schwell-Kopp-Träscher-Club (SKTC) as an association. The cost of planning and manufacturing a swell head is around 7,000 euros. These costs and storage are taken over by the Mainz Carneval Association responsible for the Mainz Rose Monday procession , which has also registered the Schwellköpp as a trademark .

The Schwellköpp can not only be seen during the youth mask parade, dance on the Lu and Rose Monday parade on the three major carnival holidays, but also at other major events in Mainz , such as the Gutenberg Marathon .

Similar papier-mâché figures still exist at the Carneval of Nice and Viareggio .

List of Schwellköpp by name

Long Latt, Aunt Eulalia, Uncle Theobald, Schinos, Scheel Ammerell, Lackaff and Butze

Each of the 30 Schwellköpp (as of 2007) is unique. A few years ago, the Honorary President of the Mainz Carneval Association (MCV) Rudi Henkel came up with the idea of giving each Schwellkopp its own name.

Ald Schees (female), wearing a green hat with fruit.

Babett (female), wears her hair in the shape of a bun .

Blunz is the woman from Schambes and is not allowed to ride the chain carousel operated by her husband because of her corpulence .

Butze (male) is a policeman in a Prussian uniform with a spiked hat and a saber . Stuck in his patrols in the old town in every pub.

Eulefoon , (male) resembles Till Eulenspiegel or a court jester , his clothes mainly consist of the city colors red and white. He is also close friends with Schnorres . If you give him a half , he sings Ritzambaa himself in the summer , morje goes the Fassenacht aa (see also Narrhallamarsch ).

Fett Muck (female) Muck refers to a pregnant female pig in the Mainz area. People say that on their wedding night her husband, the powder bun , would have run around the bed all the time , looked at her and called out: "Everything to me, everything to me!"

Fleebutz (male) wears a yellow hat with a blue ribbon, his jacket is checked in red. He wears a split mustache just below his nostrils. He's the pod's twin brother .

Goldig Grott (female) has purple colored hair, the blouse is checked in red and white. Always laughs and wears the MCV's coat of arms all year round.

Hannebambel (male) wears a red hat and a red jacket with green elements. His bow tie consists of the carnival colors red-white-blue-yellow. He is a good-natured guy with the motto: "I won't come today, I'll come tomorrow."

Hennesje (male), has a red snooty nose, his jacket is checked in black and purple. He is married to Lisbetche and brought his son Karlche into the marriage. Since Hennesje has two left hands (is clumsy), the only thing he can do is sit in the pub and gamble away the money from his wife.

Julche (female) grayish hair, gold earrings.

Karlche (male), wears a Mainz fool's cap . He is Hennesje's son , Lisbetche is his stepmother.

Knollenas (male) has a mustache and wears a blue cap with the MCV lettering, his suit is red with different colored dots. In 2007 he was the train plaque for the carnival campaign.

Lackaff (male) wears a top hat with a yellow ribbon, his hair is blond.

Lisbetche (female) has blonde hair and a green feather boa adorns her blouse. She is married to Hennesje and shares her inheritance with him, which she got from a relationship with a rich man for whom she worked as a cook. People call her hereditary stalker because she would have drunk with him until he was dead.

Long Latt , is the son of Strunzern . It is not known who his father is, but it is assumed that it is Uncle Theobald .

Uncle Theobald (male), has a long neck and a brown mustache. He is a skipper and has traveled all over the world. When he's in Mainz, he's drawn to the bars. Furthermore, he likes to wear top hats to show that he is a "fine man". He's probably also the father of Long Latt .

Powder bun (male), wears a clown hat and is made up as such. He is married to Fett Muck and therefore doesn't have much to laugh about, which is why he enjoys the Mainz Carnival all the more. His brother is the Hannebambel .

Quatschkopp (male) has gray hair and a black hat with a yellow rim. He talks stupid things and likes to stick his nose into everything without understanding anything.

Schambes (male) is a showman and runs a chain carousel . However, his wife Blunz is not allowed to go with them because it could tip over.

Scheel Ammerell (female) always wants something better and attaches great importance to her hat with a veil. That's why she always gets into an argument with her husband Schorsch .

Schinos (female) wears a red blouse and a necklace with the Mainz wheel .

Schnorres (male) wears a cap in red and blue. He sings with the Schnorreswackler and is married to the Strunzern .

Snow dark (male) green headgear. He likes to hang his mouth on a wine glass, preferably of course when he doesn't have to pay anything.

Schorsch (male) wears a yellow hat with a checkered brim. He often argues with his wife, Scheel Amerell , because she is spending more than he can earn.

Schote (male) wears a yellow straw hat with a blue brim. He is the twin brother of Fleebutz .

Strunzers (female) wears a blue headgear with a feather. She is married to Schnorres , as well as the mother of Long Latt , although it is not known who his father is.

Aunt Eulalia (female) has a red hat and blonde hair. She is not very popular with the relatives as she shows off.

Zaa Raffel (female) wears a blue hat with flowers. It owes its name to its incomplete teeth, as it only has three teeth.

Rickes is the newest Schwellkopp and was there for the first time at the Rose Monday parade in 2007. He can extend his neck and turn his head left and right. It is the first swell head that is no longer made of plaster of paris and paper, but of flexible plastic.