Barrel knocking off

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Barrel cutting in Ahrenshoop, 2006

Barrel cutting is a traditional folk festival that is celebrated in summer mainly on the Fischland and Darß , but also in other places in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and in parts of Denmark. The barrel chopping is one of the oldest folk festivals in Western Pomerania and has been carried out since at least 1774.

It is essentially a competition on horseback, in which the participants hit a barrel of herring suspended on a frame at a height of about 3–4 m until it breaks. They ride one after the other at a gallop under the barrel decorated with oak leaves and hit it with a heavy wooden club.

regulate

In preparation for the festival, a course is first set up, which consists of the riding arena and an outlet at each end. In the center of the riding arena, a massive wooden frame will be erected, in the middle of which the freely floating herring barrel, decorated with garlands and oak leaves, will be hung. Fishermen used to put salt herring in wooden barrels like this. The train, which usually consists of around 25–30 riders, rides one after the other and at a safe distance through the track at a gallop and hits the barrel, which is decimated bit by bit. The one who removes the bottom from the barrel with his blow becomes the king of the soil . Whoever wants to be crowned King of the Bars has to knock off the last piece of the "belly" - that is, the bars (also staves ). If you finally knock the last part of the barrel, the remaining, reinforced lid of the barrel off the hook, you become the barrel king . In some places it is still possible to be adorned with the unofficial title of the King of the Sand . However, this is a less honorable title, as it means that you were the first to fall from your horse into the sand while still on the track and of course remained unharmed. In some places - such as in Ahrenshoop - traditionally the dignity of the soil king is renounced. The royal honors are awarded for a period of one year.

In some places, barrel cutting is also practiced on bicycles today, and during the main event there is often an accepted children's barrel cutting on foot, whereby the little ones do not have to cut off a real barrel, but only smaller, self-made copies.

Children's barrel knockdown, 2007

The competition is framed by a variety of popular activities, from sausage and beer stalls to carousels to folk music and folk dance performances . As a result, the barrel cutting has also developed into a popular tourist event.

procedure

The annual folk festival begins in the morning with the so-called march of the barrel riders through the respective place. The dignitaries from last year are also officially picked up here. Traditionally, the reigning king of staff treats the entourage with breakfast. Lunch is appropriately served by the current barrel king. The horses are then mounted around 12:30 p.m. to ride for around 2.5 hours through the respective location. During the contest, the herring barrel is also officially recorded as an "object of contention". The rider train is also led by a horse-drawn carriage each with the veterans - i.e. the older members and former riders - and the music orchestra, which provides musical accompaniment to the festival. The so-called Ummarsch and Umritt also serve to advertise the festival in the town and to attract undecided passers-by. The actual barrel knocking usually begins around 3:00 p.m., but in some places already around 2:30 p.m. (for example in Wustrow ) after the ride around with entering the course, hanging up the barrel and a "cold run". This means that the riders ride through without hitting, among other things to get a feel for the height of the bin. At the end of each barrel teeing off, the so-called barrel ball is celebrated in the evening as a dance event that is public and in which the newly crowned kings are honored again.

history

The barrel chopping can look back on centuries of tradition, but nothing is known.

One of the explanations is that it was introduced during the occupation of Western Pomerania by the Swedes (1648-1815). Accordingly, it would be a symbol for the end of the rule of the Swedes, to whom the fishermen had to give their tithes from their fishing until then . After the end of the occupation, the fishermen are said to have hung oak barrels over them and hit them with massive clubs. This tradition continues to this day.

The fact that this popular custom can be traced back to the end of Swedish rule in the 19th century has been refuted by recent historical research. Corresponding written documents can be found in Barther protocol books as early as 1774. It is believed that this custom has been practiced here since the end of the Thirty Years' War .

Another possible explanation is that the festival imitated courtly customs. The ordinary people were of course excluded from the tournament festivals , so this competition was imitated in the villages. In earlier times only unmarried men from the village took part in the competitions.

What is certain, however, is that this tradition has withstood all social changes in the last few centuries and is an event with a high fun factor for the guests and the local population.

This custom has similarities with ring piercing in Schleswig-Holstein. The annual high point is the district barrel cutting on Fischland-Darß-Zingst , which has been taking place since 1927 and is held alternately in Wustrow, Ahrenshoop, Born , Wieck and Prerow . In addition, the carnival barrel has been knocking off in Born auf dem Darß for several years during the carnival season.

The festival was also held during the GDR era , but had to be temporarily suspended in many places at the end of the 1960s due to a lack of horses. In 1983 it was resumed in the Ostseebad Ahrenshoop, in other places (Ostseebad Wustrow) the custom was never interrupted and took place during the entire GDR period.

The registered associations of the places are each organized in the so-called barrel association (such as the barrel association Ahrenshoop, Alt- and Niehagen eV). Its members are called barrel brothers or sisters.

Dates of regular events

Dates for the barrel cutting in the Barth office

Langendamm : barrel chopping on foot, first Sunday after Pentecost

February
3. Saturday: Born , Carnival barrel cut off
May
last Saturday in May: Tribsees , barrel teeing off
June
3rd Saturday: Hohendorf , barrel cutting
4th Sunday: Wieck , barrel cutting
July
1. Saturday: Bartelshagen II b. Barth , knocking off the barrel
2nd Sunday: Wustrow , barrel cutting
3rd Sunday: Ahrenshoop , barrel cutting
4. Saturday: Klockenhagen , barrel cutting
4th Sunday: Prerow , barrel cutting
August
1st Sunday: Born, barrel cutting
2nd Saturday: Dierhagen , floodlight barrel knocking off
District barrel knockdown (only the places Wustrow, Ahrenshoop, Born, Wieck and Prerow)
This will be held on different dates. While the towns of Wieck, Prerow and Born hold it on Pentecost Sunday, in the towns of Wustrow and Ahrenshoop it traditionally takes place at the end of the season, when all five towns have held their events. The latter has the advantage that the new dignitaries can present their locations, which is not possible on Pentecost Sunday because not all events have taken place.

literature

Bernd Goltings, Holger Becker, Antje Hückstädt: 75 years of the Fischland - Darß district barrel festival . A historical look back from 1927 to 2002 . Rostock, 2002.

Gunter Lübbe: Fischland barrel festivals. A contribution to the history of the local folk custom . Tunnüppel-Verlag, 2007.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. www.Barthertonnenbund-Fanclub.de