Characters in Fastnacht costumes with elaborate masks under a wooden ceiling (Karen Blakesey)
If you’ve lived in Germany for a while you’ll know just how many festivals occur here. Lent Carnival festivals are one of my favorites, especially those in the Swabian region (Southwestern Germany). Held in the seventh week before Easter, these immersive events are rich in tradition (dating as far back as the 1500s), with colorful costumes, street parades, guild calls and a large dose of mischief.
To discover more about the history and traditions, I visited the Fastnachtsmuseum in Bad Dürrheim. The museum’s exhibits are excellent: explanations regarding the symbolism and history of carnival traditions are complemented by multimedia presentations, artifacts, photos, and historic, hand carved, wooden masks (Larven). Their collection of 380 full sized figures in brightly decorated costumes made from feathers, shells, bells, fabric and straw bring the traditions to life. It was here that I learned that one of the main differences between a Swabian carnival and others held elsewhere in Germany is that masks may only be worn by participants; the wearing of a mask by a spectator at a Swabian carnival is considered unacceptable. With my newly acquired knowledge, I attended three very different carnivals over the weekend, at the neighboring (and twinned) towns of Villingen and Schwenningen, and at the nearby town of Bad Dürrheim.
This quaint medieval town comes alive with carnival. Early risers brave the morning chill to see the Cat’s Parade, led by Tom Cat. Participants include the general field marshal, the cat couple, and Prince Carnival. Calling out “Meow” can earn spectators sweets, pastries or other cat themed gifts; my efforts secured a crocheted cat keyring. I grabbed a pastry and a coffee to warm up before the main parade.
Top Tip: Watch the parade from outside a bakery!
The Villingen carnival guild dates back to 1584 and recognizes four historic characters: the Narro, Morbili, Altvillingern and the Stachi.
The Narro, or white fools, historically wore white linen suits decorated with hand painted scenes of lewd behavior, but expect now to see hand-painted botanical patterns on sleeves, and heraldic animals like griffins depicted on the legs and chest. All white fools hold a wooden saber in their right hand and a silk scarf in their left. Around their neck is a folded wide collar made from 12m of fabric, secured with a silk bow, and two wide leather belts adorn their chest, with large metal bells attached, which ring when the fools hop, signaling their arrival. They also cover their faces with wooden masks with fox tails attached, which, while they look similar, are all unique, and passed down through generations.
The Stachi is a male figure known for his teasing traits. He wears a blue shirt and carries either a duster (which he uses to dust the spectators), or a wooden Streckscheren (scissors) that extend over 2-3 meter which grabs the hats of unsuspecting spectators and put them onto someone else’s head...one took mine!
The Morbili is a friendly looking old lady in a late 18th century style dress, wearing a mask depicting an old women’s face. Her handbag contains sweets, but you won’t get any unless you shout a certain Swabian verse (which you’ll learn quickly among the crowd).
The Altvillingerin, was created at the beginning of the 20th century as part of the movement to gain equal rights for women. A maskless character, she wears traditional late 18th century attire with an elegant golden bonnet and pushes a vintage stroller – often containing a small child (also in traditional dress). Over 100 strollers are used in the procession, and I still wonder where they store them for the remainder of the year.
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People in cat masks and historical clothing walking on a street (Karen Blakesey)
Villingen’s parade has its own unique quirks: only here can you see the direct opposite of the white fool, the Wüeschte (desert), who walk at the end of the parade, wearing old and faded Narro costumes, with trousers stuffed so full with straw they make it difficult for the wearer to walk, and with their masks deliberately held slightly off their faces. Don’t fear them though, as it is considered an honor to have them tuck a small tuft of straw into your collar. At the end of the Villingen Fasnet, the straw from the Wüeschte is burned at midnight on the Münsterplatz in front of the town hall.
My favorite character had to be Butzel (or Butz), a mischievous donkey who drags a tree branch behind him. His outfit is made from scraps of fabric, and he wears a donkey’s head. Butzel keeps trying to escape from the parade into the crowd or any open shops, and if successful, he can eat or drink whatever he likes, with his drovers (Stachi carrying whips) having to settle the bill. Butz is one of the oldest figures of Fasnet, with origins in the medieval church’s depictions of the devil. Don’t miss the drover’s impressive whip cracking displays.
Butzel the donkey decorated for Fastnacht (Karen Blakesey)
The animal figures at Fasnet are linked to medieval allegories of vice. Many towns have their own version of Butz. In Braunlingen, they have a city goat which symbolized indecency and lewdness, while an oversized rooster that carries a rider can be seen in Rottweil and Wolfach.
The Glonki guild, founded in 1933, meet at 7p.m. on the Sunday before the parade to ‘search’ for Fasnet who is played by the newest recruit to the group. Accompanied by music and drums, they give a speech from the balcony tower after which there is a light show and fireworks.
Schwenningen is the other half of the community. Originally separate, the 1970s administration reforms merged catholic Austrian Villingen and protestant Württembergish Schwenningen together.
Schwenningen boasts different carnival characters: Their emphasis is on parade floats, fools, and the many and varied guilds of Hexen (witches) who first appeared in carnival processions as late as the 1930s. Each Hex guild has their own call: a correct response will see you rewarded with treats or sweets. But beware of their mischievous nature: I saw young women carried off over witches’ shoulders, put into carts and driven off, and hats snatched. In my case, they removed my ponytail’s hair tie and covered me in paper confetti! Despite how it sounds, it was all good-natured fun. Schwenningen is also the venue to see displays from the whip crackers.
Our final town was Bäd Durrheim. Here I tasted FasnetKuechle (carnival cake) and danced to many live bands in an amazing atmosphere.
My favorite parts were the Narrenbaum (18 people sitting on a 22-metre-long log pulled through the streets by a tractor), and the soldiers in historical costume who fired their mini-canon repeatedly during the procession. Here, not knowing the correct guild call resulted in you being marked with dabs of face paint: I left the carnival fully decorated!
Other towns have different traditions: in Munderkingen people dive into their fountain, and in Bad Säckingen a carnival effigy called a Böög is burned. With each Southern German town having its own traditions, I cannot wait to return to experience different carnivals this year.
All the calls for the different guilds and further information about the Villingen-Schwenningen carnival can be found at https://www.villingen-schwenningen.de/tourismus-erleben/vs-erleben/fasnet/.
Person in jester-like costume in a Fastnacht parade on a sunny day (Karen Blakesey)
Editor’s Note: This article was written by a member of the local military community, not an employee of Stars and Stripes. Neither the organization nor the content is being represented by Stars and Stripes or the Department of Defense.
