39-year-old Sebastian Harrnach has been playing the role of Krampus for 13 years now. He has the group in the Erding area in 2019 Strawanza Pass co-founded. The current seven members are active at events in November and December every year. Together with the local tourist information office, Harrnach is organizing the Tölzer Krampus Run on Saturday, December 9th (start: 5:45 p.m.) with around a hundred participants from Austria, the Allgäu and Berchtesgadener Land on Marktstrasse. In the conversation he talks about what it means to slip into the role of evil and what makes him sweat.
SZ: Mr. Harrnach, do you generally like to play the “bad guy”?
Sebastian Harrnach: Basically not. I work in the fire department operations center and am a trained carpenter and paramedic. I’m actually someone who likes to help.
What drives you to take to the streets as Krampus? Krampus is Santa Claus’s opponent and is supposed to punish the children.
I just enjoy it. This is practically the balance to the dreary everyday life. It’s great to be out and about with the special people, to have time to cultivate friendships and traditions, and to see children with a smile on their faces.
The performance can be frightening for the audience – but the protagonist enjoys it.
(Photo: Private/oh)
I thought they were afraid of you.
Most children think it’s cool when you approach them and interact with them. But I can sense very quickly when someone starts to cry. Then I’d better turn away straight away. When I was little, Santa Claus came to our house. Krampus was there too. I always had to hold Santa’s staff. But I was also the wildest. I needed the Krampus to get me to the north.
Weren’t you afraid?
I would rather say I had massive respect. It starts with Santa Claus. With his beard and the bishop’s robes, he is already a person of respect. Then comes Krampus. But in my opinion that’s part of it.
And that’s why you became Krampus yourself as an adult?
When I was in my late 20s, I attended fire department training as a control center dispatcher. I sat on the bed and didn’t feel like studying. I then came across a Krampus group website. I then wrote to them. The first time I had the larva on my head, I was in love with it. Then it happened to me.
And how does a Krampus get his own equipment?
There are specialized larva carvers, especially in Austria. They are handmade and, depending on the effort involved, cost a lot of money. This starts at 600 euros and can easily cost 1300 euros. For the garment made of fur – often from sheep or goats, but also local game – another 1000 euros are added. I spent 2900 euros on my Krampus outfit with leather trousers, sheepskin coat, bell belt, larva and garter.
Sebastian Harrnach’s equipment is not cheap.
(Photo: Private/oh)
Not exactly cheap. Hopefully this will last longer?
At Strawanza Pass we have had our skins and larvae for three years now. Next year we are having larvae made from cast aluminum because we want to try a different direction. But there are also groups that get something new every year. I always say it’s the best hobby, but also the most expensive, because it’s such a pay-as-you-go business.
Then let it be. And with the larva and all the trimmings, it’s certainly not always so convenient. How much does a Krampus outfit weigh?
With my Kraxe that’s up to 30 kilograms.
But that sounds exhausting. Do you actually train for the Krampus Runs?
I pump like a cockchafer, but that’s not why I go to training. The runs vary in length, sometimes only lasting ten minutes. In Klagenfurt it was one and a half hours. There’s always something wrong. The suspenders sometimes slip. But you can endure it. However, it is often the warmest place under the fur.
How many races do you take part in?
This year there are seven Krampus runs and two home visits in the Erdinger and Freising areas. It’s important to me to just get out with my friends once for four or five weeks a year. Being Krampus is special because it doesn’t happen every day. This is my season.