HAVE GERMAN WILL TRAVEL FASTNACHT Fasnet in Schwaben Alemannic Shrovetide: tradition and fun

1At 2.00 p.m. on Sh,o,e Monday, st,ange celebrated with , parades, and figures arc assembling at the Obere Tor in balls. In the pubs and inns, the merry Villingen. Clad in wide pants adomed with hustle and bustle often continues into the lions, a woodcn mask in front of the face, early hours of the morning. and hung with bells, they storm, on com­ The right atmosphere during the proces­ mand, through the city-gate. "Narren­ sicins is created not entirely by the fools - sprung" - fool's jump - this spectacle is music bands are marching along every- . called by the natives of Villingen. The where, in Villingen first and foremost the tempestuous figures are the "Narros" - the "Katzenmusik". The cat masks symbolize fools or jesters - who can now pursue their ), the merry character of shrovetide, the jest­ favorite activity - the "Strählen": promi- • · ers the serious-historical one. Particular of nent fellow citizens are reproached with Villingen are the "Butzesel" - a donkey's their mishaps and mistakes of the past head of papier-mäche above a fool's dress year. And since the bearer of the mask made of scraps of cloth. They syrnbolize remains anonymous, he voices his opinion the winter, who is to be driven away, and without any reservation, quite to the en­ that's why they are chased by all the other joyment of the nearby spectators. fools. This can be a rat her rough affair, but The Strählen and the Narrensprung are the Butzesel know how to get their re­ fixed parts of the Vill in gen '·Fasnet". In venge. They take refuge in the pubs and the whole of the South Baden area, the eat and drink as much as they can - the Swabian-Alemannic Shrovetide is cele­ "hunters" must foot the bill. brated according to strict, historic rules. Around midnight on , Other than in the Rhenish , you straw fires are buming on the market don't find here a n individual dressing up. squares. Much to the displeasure of the fools, since they signal the end of The fools' guilds, comparable with citi­ shrovetide. Now they have to wait a whole zens' committees, determine the appear­ year until the fun starts all over again. ance of a mask - so the term for .the complete disguise - from the headgear down to the shoes very precisely. Mem­ bers of the same guild wear the same mask, which can be reminiscent of ani­ mals, the four seasons, character traits, or In the south~estem Swablan- \ historic persons. None of the mask bearers Alamannic reglon, Karneval is is to differ from the others, so that the called Fasnacht and has a duker, individual persons remain anonymous. more mysterlous tenor than ln other reglons, which focus on The Alemannic Shrovetide probably tomfoolery. Parade watchers ln originates from the heathen midwinter Baden-Württemberg are more celebrations. In a rnasquerade, the peoples likely to get a gentle dobber of the Alpine countries believed they with a Saubloder, an in.flated plg's could defeat the demons and ghosts of bladder on a stic~ or a hefty; winter. For that, they disguised thernselves shove wlth a broom. · Our as thc most gruesomc beasts with masks as photograph shows a celebrant hideous and grotesque as possible. In the wearing a Bisslarve, a mask with Middlc Ages, thc shrovetide lost its a jeering face, from the Rottweil riwalistic significance. lnstead. the secular (Baden-Württ~mberg) celebra­ authorities were made fun of in shrovetide tion. At eight o' clock ln the into the 19th Century. Without success, as moming of the Monday before plays and processions. you can see. From "Schmotzige Dunsch­ , vividly costumed and 1 tig" ( dirty Thursday) to "Fasnet-Diensch­ For that reason, the Alemannic Shrove­ masked "fools" (Na"en) leap 1 tide was repeatedly banned all the way tig'· (Shrove Tuesday), the shrovetide is tluough the Black Gate of the / Rottweil old town, cracking whips and jingling heavy (40-601 The Swabia-;;-:Älemannic Shrovelide is cele­ ~und) bells. The "Fools' Leap." brated in the South Baden area. This cuslom (Narrensprung) beglns the fes­ ls particularly carried on in Villingen, Biberach, tivities; they end with the start of Bad Buchau, and Rottweil. Lent on .