Walpurgis Night

We had a really great time at the witches' festival in Braunlage. Sorry for both the delay and quality of the images in this posting. For some reason I cannot load the sound from the video I took onto the computer and I do not want to post a silent film. So the images are stills from the video.

Walpurgis Night on April 30 is an old pagan festival, which borrowed its name from Saint Walburga whose feast occurs on May Day. On this night witches are believed to ride on broomsticks to places of old pagan sacrifices in the Harz Mountains, especially to the Brocken. The Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, is considered the focal point of Walpurgisnacht. Also known as the Blocksberg, the 1142-meter peak is often shrouded in mist and clouds, lending it a mysterious atmosphere that has contributed to its legendary status as the home of witches (Hexen) and devils (Teufel). 

 

Walpurgis is celebrated across the Harz. The busiest and loudest parties are held in Schierke, Thale and Braunlage. Although the town of Bad Grund seems a distance away from the Brocken, it has a special place in the Harz for Walpurgis Night. When Germany was divided into two states and the Brocken was out of bounds for people from West Germany, Bad Grund became their centre of celebrations.

I remember my first time attending a Walpurgis Night and sitting in an Italian restaurant in Braunlage and being surrounded by other diners dressed as witches and devils. I gazed across a sea of pointed hats, twisted noses and devil horns, all munching away on pizza - a slightly surreal experience.