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Bad Dürkheim along the German Wine Street will start its traditional “Wurstmarkt,” known as the world’s biggest wine fest, today. For the 594th 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.
Organizers expect about 600,000 visitors from all over the world.
The annual wine fest will be celebrated in two parts: from today through Tuesday, and Sept. 17 to 20. More than 290 ride owners and vendors will be available in the amusement park and set up on the 45,000-square-meter festgrounds.
Rides will include a giant Ferris wheel, a roller coaster called Spinning Racer, and fast rides such as Sky Dance, Hot Shot, Take-Off, Break Dance and Happy Sailor.
There will be food and candy booths, fest tents with live bands, and a wine village with wine tents.
The fest will begin 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 lead from the Kurhaus to the festival grounds, where the Wurstmarkt officially opens at 6.
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 attraction of the fest are 36 little wine tents called “Schubkärchler,” or 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.
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 was celebrated instead. In 1948, there was a fish market due to the lack of meat. Vendors sold fish sandwiches and fish wurst. On top of that, each visitor was allowed only one bottle of wine.
The first regular Wurstmarkt after the war took place in 1949.
The little wine tents (Schubkärchler) will open at 10 a.m. and the rides at noon each day. An Italian fireworks display will be lit at 9 p.m. Tuesday, and another fireworks display under the motto “Starlight moments for the scenes,” will close out the fest at 9 p.m. Sept. 20.
The German railroad company, Deutsche Bahn, offer rides from Kaiserslautern to Bad Dürkheim every 30 minutes until 8 p.m. After that, the trains travel every hour and passengers have to change trains in Neustadt. DB offers the VRN Ticket 24 for individual travelers for €14 or the Ticket 24+ for two to five passengers for €20. Tickets are available at the ticket machines at the train station.
For more information, visit www.duerkheimer-wurstmarkt.de.
