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Bad Duerkheim opens the doors to the world’s biggest wine fest, the “Wurstmarkt” today. For the 590th time the annual fest takes place on the fest-grounds near the Duerkheimer Fass − the world’s biggest wine barrel, which also has a restaurant. It could hold 1.7 million liters of wine.
Organizers expect – like in the last four years − more than 600,000 visitors from throughout Germany and Europe.
The fest is celebrated in two parts: from today through Tuesday, and Sept. 15 to 18. It features a big amusement park with a giant Ferris wheel and many other rides, food and candy booths, fest tents, a wine village with wine tents and a vintners’ garden. There will also be two fireworks displays, at 9 p.m. Tuesday and Sept. 18.
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 “Schubkaerchler,” 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, which resulted in 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.
In the year 1910, city officials decided to celebrate the fest earlier in September and not on Michael’s day anymore, 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.
The fest officially begins at 5 p.m. today with a concert in front of the Kurhaus. The opening parade from the Kurhaus to the festival grounds starts at 5:30 p.m.
The little wine tents (Schubkaerchler) will open at 10 a.m. each day and the other places and rides open at noon. About 260 wines and 30 sparkling wines will be served, all from local vineyards.
• For more information, visit
www.duerkheimer-wurstmarkt.de.
