Twitter
Facebook
Annweiler lures many visitors each year when it celebrates a medieval fest to honor Richard the Lionheart of Brittany. The seventh Richard the Lionheart Fest will take place today to Sunday.
The event will feature a medieval market, knights’ camp, vendors, jugglers, children’s activities and musical presentations.
The fest will officially open at 6 p.m. today. A medieval concert by Des Teufels Lockvögel will be presented at 8 on Rathausplatz.
The medieval market with more than 70 stands will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight today, noon to midnight Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Craftsmen, including a turner, potter, goldsmith, stone cutter, glass blower, paper maker, weaver and tailor, will present how their work was performed in former times.
Vendors will sell soap, herbs, weapons, jewelry and clothes.Medieval groups will dance, sing and play music on medieval instruments. Knights groups will show how knights in the Middle Ages lived and how they fought.
Children can watch puppet theater performances, try out archery and listen to fairytales. Jugglers and magicians will demonstrate their special skills.
The group Ranunculus will present a concert Saturday night to be followed by a fire show with the duet Jomamakü on Rathausplatz.
Stands with food and drink specialties will be available to serve flat cake, oriental specialties, sweets, mead, absinth and other drinks from the Middle Ages.
Daily tickets cost €5. Children under 12 are admitted free. Visitors in medieval costumes only pay €3. Tonight, admission is free.
The English king, Richard the Lionheart, was a prisoner on Trifels Castle in Annweiler from 1193 to 1194. He was captured by German Emperor Heinrich VI on his way back from the Holy Land. He had to stay in prison until the English paid an incredibly high ransom.
Trifels Castle still houses imitations of the former imperial insignia, crown, orb and scepter. Opening hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. April through September, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. October through March. The castle is closed in December. Admission fee is €3 for adults and €1.50 for children.Annweiler is located on federal street B10, between Pirmasens and Landau.
For more information about the Richard-Loewenherz-Fest, visit www.trifelsland.de. or www.annweiler.de.
