Walpurgisnacht

A few days ago, April 30th to be precise, was Walpurgisnacht here in the Harz. This had been one of the most anticipated moments of my project, as it is perhaps one of the biggest festivals the Harz is known for--so much so that Walpurgisnacht is featured in Faust part 1 from Goethe.

To elaborate on the legend of Walpurgisnacht--which has nordic origins--it is the night in which all the witches in the world gather at the Hexentanzplatz (witches dancefloor) in Thale before taking flight at Midnight to the Brocken Mountain. Around the summit of the Brocken, the witches dance for the Devil, who then selects one of the witches to be his Bride for the year.

Before I came to Germany for the first time as an exchange student, Walpurgisnacht was the first thing I read about regarding the Harz region. I looked forward to the festival for the whole year I was here, and then on the day of the festival I found out no one in the family I was living in had any desire to go. I decided to do it alone, but only managed to make it to a couple of smaller celebrations in a few of the less known towns.

This year, I decided to go all out and celebrate the night in Thale at the Hexentanzplatz--the festival of festivals for Walpurgis.

I received the advice from several friends to leave early for Thale, since the Tanzplatz fills up faster than any of the other festival locations (fun fact: George Clooney and crew tried to celebrate the night in Thale, but it was at capacity when they arrived and they had to go elsewhere. They were in disguise, so no one knew, but I can still say I got into a party old George couldn't get into. Source: Halberstadt Volkstimme.)

I took the two o'clock train to Thale, arrived at three, and decided to hike up the to Tanzplatz--about 3 miles. When I got to the festival gates, I learned there was a 20 euro entrance fee. I paid, using most the money I brought figuring there would be an ATM inside. There wasn't. Slightly annoyed, I realized I had to return to the town below to get more cash for the night, and because I was still early I was unable to use any of the shuttles that were meant for the festivities. Back down the mountain, I walked through the old town corner of Thale and explored the Walpurgisnacht market they had going on before returning to festival above.

I will admit, the 20 euro entrance had shocked me, but the prices of refreshments once inside were extremely reasonable. A half liter of beer was 2 euros and a brat was be had for 2.50. The Western Idaho Fair could learn something here.

Aside from a small pair of devil horns, I didn't dress up for the occasion, opting instead to wear layers of warmer clothes incase I ended up having to sit the night at the train station later. But everywhere there were witches and devils merrymaking and posing for photos. There was some great diversity in the witches costumes, from the typical green wicked witch of the west, to the Babba-Yagga peasant woman sort of witch, to the dreadlocked new age Wiccan. I felt like I had gone from Germany to the North End of Boise in 1.2 seconds. (One thing that was not to be seen was the "slutty witch" that would have likely run amuck if this festival were in the US.)

(Go to Germany, meet girls.)

There was a kids corner where the little ones could make their own brooms and have their faces painted. Music played in every corner, and there were plenty of fires burning to keep everyone warm. On the main stage, the regional radio DJ's acted as Emcees for the night, introducing bands and announcing the various dance performances. By 8 pm there were about 20,000 people within the festival. At 9 there was an amazing sunset that highlighted the Brocken in the distance and added to the atmosphere.

I met up with a few folks I had met during my travels here in the Harz. The antique handler out of Ellrich in the South was very excited to see me taking part in the folk festival. I also met up with some folks out of Halberstadt who are working on parts of my film project with me. We all talked, enjoyed the food and beer that was offered, and rated the various witch costumes.

From 11:30 to midnight, there was a spectacular performance of the final scenes of Faust. Lasers, intricate costumes, fire dancing and acrobatics were all part of the performance before ending in a dance party at midnight were several of the now somewhat inebriated witches mounted their brooms and ran around the grounds. The party continued on the Hexentanzplatz until the early hours of the morning, but I left at about 12:30 too meet up with some other friends back down in the village. At 2 am I caught the second to the last train back to Halberstadt.

All in all, it was a very fun night, and I am glad I decided to spend it in Thale. It's amazing to think how popular the several hundred year old festival still is, and I can't help but wonder what it may have looked like back in the day.