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Bad Dürkheim along the German Wine Street starts its traditional “Wurstmarkt” – known as the world’s biggest wine fest – today. For the 592nd time, the event will take place on the fest grounds, next to the “Dürkheimer Fass,” the world’s biggest wine barrel, which actually houses a restaurant. If used as a barrel, it could hold 1.7 million liters of wine.
The traditional wine fest, which lures more than 600,000 visitors from throughout the world, is celebrated in two parts: from today through Tuesday, and Sept. 19 to 22. It features a big amusement park with a giant ferris wheel and many other rides, food and candy booths, fest tents with live bands, a wine village with wine tents and – instead of a vintners’ garden like last year – a casino garden, which is run by the casino and the Kurpark Hotel. There will also be two fireworks displays – at 9 p.m. Tuesday and Sept. 22.
The Wurstmarkt, meaning sausage fair, is more than 500 years old. It received its name from the fact that early fest-goers ate enormous amounts of sausage during the event in the first part of the 19th century.
However, the main attractions of the fest are 36 little wine tents called “Schubkärchler,” wheelbarrows, because vintners rolled wine barrels on wheelbarrows up to Michelsberg hill to quench pilgrims’ thirst in the 15th century.
Each year at the end of September on Michael’s day, pilgrims visited the little chapel on top of the hill, and had market activities with many vendors selling their goods on the hill and along the streets leading up to the chapel. When church dignitaries no longer accepted this type of pilgrimage, market activities were relocated to the bottom of Michelsberg, and the “sausage fair” was born.
While vendors lost in importance throughout the years, amusement features became more and more important. In the year 1830, there was a circus, fire-eater, puppet theater, riding school, showmen and musicians.
In the year 1910, city officials decided to celebrate the fest earlier in September and no longer on Michaels’ day, because of better weather. In 1926, the Wurstmarkt got extended by a day, in 1951 by seven, and finally in 1965, the fest was extended by eight days.
During World War II, the event didn’t take place, and after the war, in 1947, a fall fest has been celebrated instead. In 1948, there was a fish market due to the lack of meat. Vendors sold fish sandwiches and fish wurst. Each visitor was allowed only one bottle of wine.
The first regular Wurstmarkt after the war took place in 1949.
The fest starts at 5 p.m. today with a concert in front of the Kurhaus (official spa building). At 5:30 p.m., a parade with musicians, vintners and officials will go from the Kurhaus to the festival grounds, where the Wurstmarkt will officially open at 6 p.m.
The little wine tents (Schubkärchler) will open at 10 a.m. and the rides at noon.
Every 30 minutes, the German railroad company, Deutsche Bahn, will offer rides from Kaiserslautern to Neustadt, where trains have to be changed to go on to Bad Dürkheim. Trains back from Bad Dürkheim to Neustadt and on to Kaiserslautern will also leave every 30 minutes until 8 p.m., and then every hour. Tickets for single people cost €13; the group ticket for two to five people costs €19.
Visit www.duerkheimer-wurstmarkt.de for more information.
