Dance festival
The Tänzelfest is a town festival in Kaufbeuren that is celebrated every year in mid-July and is considered the oldest children's festival in Bavaria . The dance festival lasts 12 days.
This festival can be traced back to a foundation of Emperor Maximilian I , the “last knight of Germany”, in the 15th century. Over the course of five centuries the festival has undergone many changes and today it has the motto "Children play the history of their city".
On Sunday and Monday, the legend of the foundation of the festival by Emperor Maximilian is presented in a large game scene in front of the Kaufbeurer town hall. The central element of the festival is the subsequent parade with an almost complete cross-section through the history of Kaufbeuren from the foundation to the early 20th century.
Every year around 1,850 children in historical costumes, over 170 horses, many carriages, 36 floats and music groups take part in the festival.
The Tänzelfestverein eV, based in Kaufbeuren, is responsible for maintaining tradition, planning and carrying out the dance festival.
history
According to local, non-verifiable tradition, the then King Maximilian came to Kaufbeuren in 1497 "along with a number of princes and counts" and during his stay "[...] decreed Denzeltag to encourage the youth". This corresponds to the royal custom of that time, according to which visits to the rulers were associated with celebrations, as well as jurisdiction, granting of privileges and the like.
The festival is probably even older and developed from guild festivals that were also common in other southern German cities. From 1557 the festival appears as a “dance day” in the city's council minutes, in 1566 with the comment “as it was held by the old”. This shows that the dance day was one of the traditions that even then exceeded the memory of the living generation. Special features of a children's festival are not mentioned in the 16th century, only in 1658 is there written evidence of a connection between the day of dancing and a school or children's festival. The first description of the festival can be found in 1805. Due to the dominance of the Protestant population in Kaufbeuren, the dance festival was confessional until 1919 . Attempts to make it equal to each other had failed in the 19th century.
In order to organize the festival in a planned manner, the dance festival association was founded in 1890 as the "dance festival committee". The festival was not held during the First and Second World Wars .
Until 1937, the so-called Tänzelhölzle served as the venue for the festival. It was a pine forest that stretched over the area of today's air base and the share brewery . The Tänzelhölzle has only been documented since 1689, and it is possible that it served as a festival and meeting place much earlier. Only with the completion of the fairground in 1960 did the festival get a permanent venue again.
The military character of the children's festival, with modifications until 1914, but unchanged in terms of design and process, can be traced back to the peculiarities of the guild festivals. The pageant was thematically expanded, especially in the 20s and later from the 50s, with historical groups. In 1959, the legendary history of the foundation with the Maximilianszug was integrated into the festival for the first time. In 1989, camp life was incorporated into the dance festival as a new component.
At the Tänzelfest 2013, some guests were racially insulted by neo-Nazis. One of the right-wing extremists brutally beat an innocent bystanders, and the victim finally died of cerebral haemorrhage two days later. In May 2014 the perpetrator Falk H. was finally sentenced by the Kempten District Court to eleven years imprisonment and alcohol withdrawal for bodily harm resulting in death. The court rated the act as "completely pointless drinking and beating". The right-wing extremist attitude of the perpetrator was classified as 'not relevant to the crime', which, however, repeatedly met with criticism.
In 2020, the dance festival was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Historical camp life
Another part of the dance festival is the historical camp life , during which the city center of Kaufbeur is transformed back into the medieval free imperial city . Huts of the local associations and craftsmen show the city life in the time of Emperor Maximilian . Various music and artistic groups perform during camp life. Including the Landsknechtstrommler and Artistica Anam Cara as well as the Compania Gioccolari. On the second day of camp life, as well as on Sunday and Monday, the traditional tattoo of the Tänzelfest Knabenkapelle Kaufbeuren takes place in front of the town hall from 9.30 p.m.
Camp life has been taking place since 1989, the date is always on the Friday and Saturday before the big pageant. For several years there has been increasing criticism that too much alcohol is consumed in camp life, especially by young people.
Dance floor (roundabout)
At the dance floor, which is located near the Tänzelfestplatz, traditional dances by different groups of children, consisting of pupils from different elementary schools in Kaufbeurens, are performed. This is done in honor of the Emperor Maximilian. The dances are musically accompanied by the Kaufbeuren brass ensemble and the drumming corps of the Tänzelfest Knabenkapelle Kaufbeuren. This is also where the opening of the dance festival takes place. The ice rink of the ESVK serves as an alternative location.
Fairground
Around the same time as the dance festival, other attractions and rides traditionally take place at the fairground. There are stands with culinary art, as well as a large beer tent with live band performances. The fair is located on Neugablonzerstraße towards Neugablonz on the river Wertach. At the end of the dance festival and the fairground there is an impressive fireworks display.
Others
A street called Tänzelfestweg runs parallel to the Wertach River. 2018 the festival was the home price Bavaria by the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance and home to excellent. In April 2020, the dance festival was included in the Bavarian register of intangible cultural heritage .
literature
- Andrea Bier: The dance festival in Kaufbeuren. University of Augsburg, 1993.
- Franziska Fuchs: The dance festival. Motives and motivation of the Kaufbeurer children's and folk festival today. University of Regensburg, 1999.
- Richard Ledermann: The Kaufbeurer Tänzelfest through the centuries. Research and memories of an old dancer friend. Seitz, Augsburg 1964.
- Franz-Josef Körner: Das Gänsespiel Historical Kaufbeurer novel about the origin of the dance festival. Bauer-Verlag Thalhofen, ISBN 978-3-934509-76-4 .
- Kraus, Jürgen: The inviolability of tradition. The Kaufbeurer Tänzelfest. In: Dieter, Stefan / Kraus, Jürgen: The history of the city of Kaufbeuren II. Art history, civil culture and religious life. Thalhofen, 2001.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Parade :: Tänzelfest in Kaufbeuren. Retrieved October 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Kraus, Jürgen: The inviolability of tradition. The Kaufbeurer Tänzelfest. In: Dieter, Stefan / Kraus, Jürgen: The history of the city of Kaufbeuren II. Art history, civil culture and religious life. Thalhofen, 2001. 197f.
- ↑ Cf. Simm, Marcus: The king's place in Buron. Kaufbeuren - An urban archaeological study on genesis, early development and topography. Thalhofen, 2012. 202.
- ↑ Kraus 2001: 196.
- ↑ Cf. Kraus 2001: 196f.
- ↑ Cf. Kraus 2001: 198f.
- ↑ Cf. Kraus 2001: 200ff.
- ↑ Cf. Kraus 2001: 203.
- ↑ See Simm 2012: 202.
- ↑ See Kraus 2001: 199.
- ↑ Cf. Kraus 2001: 209, 206.
- ↑ Stefan Mayr Kempten: Process in Kempten: "At the lowest level" . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN 0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on March 29, 2016]).
- ↑ No right-wing extremist act? On the anniversary of the murder at the "Tänzelfest" in Kaufbeuren | Network against Nazis. In: www.netz-gegen-nazis.de. Retrieved August 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Tänzelfest is canceled this year: “Black Wednesday” for Kaufbeuren's fifth season. In: Kreisbote . Retrieved May 10, 2020 .
- ↑ Bavarian Home Prize. In: taenzelfest.de. Retrieved February 12, 2019 .
- ↑ Application for list of world cultural and natural heritage :: Tänzelfest in Kaufbeuren. Retrieved April 6, 2020 .
