Maypoles – “It takes ice-cold dogs” – district of Munich

Florian Büchlmeir will probably not have found a refreshing sleep on Saturday night. In the afternoon, the 34-year-old has to stand his ground, and the responsibility that will then weigh on his shoulders for at least two hours will weigh as heavily as a full-grown spruce. If it rains, even harder, because then some of the seven pairs of shear poles could easily slip, with the help of which 70 men want to heave the four-tonne maypole, which is set up in Taufkirchen the day before May 1st, into the vertical position. And if he gives the wrong command at such a critical moment, the pile of wood could fall to the ground with a crash and it would be all fun in no time.

It is the first time that Büchlmeir, as a so-called announcer, gives the commands when setting up a maypole without technical aids. His predecessor Fritz Beck, under whose direction five Taufkirchner maypoles have already been erected accident-free, and the 70 boys who play the main role in the traditional act, trust the novice, who is not afraid, but has a noticeable respect for the task and who, of all those involved, will certainly have the biggest load off his heart when he can finally call out “the tree is up”.

How do you get around a 90-degree turn with a 33.70 meter long spruce?

On Wednesday evening, Büchlmeir, Beck and a whole series of other young and old met for an on-site visit at the support rail next to Ritter-Hilprand-Strasse, in which the maypole will be precisely anchored on Saturday. Because there is a problem: The spruce tree, which is exactly 33.70 meters long, has to make a 90-degree turn on the way from the storage area to the parking space, which has always been easy until now. In the meantime, however, the bay at the bus stop on Münchner Strasse no longer exists, which has increased the angle when maneuvering. Is the tree still coming around the corner? A rope as long as the maypole is stretched, two boys bend it around the corner, always keeping the rope taut. Meanwhile, traffic is halted. After several attempts it finally works. The irony of the events was that the Harthauser and Putzbrunner boys faced a similar problem on Easter Sunday when they stole their maypole from the people of Taufkirch and had to turn from the camp site onto Münchner Straße. A neighbor, with whom the Taufkirchners probably still have an ax to grind, showed the thieves the angle at which they had to start in order to get the curve.

Shear poles are the most important utensil when setting up maypoles. But alas, they slip.

(Photo: Claus Schunk)

Erwin Gleißner will also be present at the on-site visit on Wednesday. For 50 years he tied the shear rods, this year he did it together with Philipp Piendl and Ludwig Beck, who are responsible for it from now on. It’s not as if two poles are simply connected with a rope, the distances have to vary and become smaller from bottom to top. According to Gleißner, they are 47 centimeters at the stump of the tree this year. When setting up, the maypole has to be lifted the first few meters with the help of an excavator and the first planks pushed under it so that the first of seven pairs of shear poles can be attached and the boys, with an average of ten per pair, can begin their strenuous work. They have to persevere until the tree is in a safe position, without pausing for a second – and always listen to Büchlmeir’s commands, who, for example, specify whether the whole team pushes, or just the left or right side. Because left and right can quickly be confused, it is then called “The Trennerseitn schiabt” or the “Wagmüllerseitn schiabt”. And one thing is an iron law: “Only one person gives the command, everyone can only shout stop,” as Fritz Beck says. It was in 2015 when he handed over his office to Florian Büchlmeir, immediately after the maypole was up.

The most dangerous situation arises when the long shear bars are used. “Normally everybody leaves.”

Manfred Renk, who celebrated his premiere as an announcer in Aying in 2019, where the highest maypole traditionally stands, also knows how an announcer feels the first time. The current one is 51 meters long, but like its predecessors it is crafted, that is, composed of two trunks that are stabilized with red-hot iron rings. And it is not held by rails, but placed in a 3.5 meter deep hole in the ground. What happens when such a pile crashes onto the street can be seen in Aying every five years, namely when the disused tree is felled in a controlled manner. “When it hits, you see the blue-white diamonds in the tar, it’s like a stamp pad,” says the self-employed carpenter. The people of Aying don’t lay out mattresses like the people of Taufkirch do when they tip their tree off the rail. As announcer, he is responsible for 120 boys and the spectators, “I can’t even think about it,” he says. So far there have been no accidents in Aying, apart from a bolt of lightning that struck the tree on July 17, 1993 and from there into the brewery inn, where it smashed the wall paneling and a musician broke his leg.

In Aying, too, a wheel loader lifts the maypole a little so that the first two of eight pairs of scissor poles, which are between three and 17 meters long, can be attached. When lowering the tree into the pit, the “craziest thing” begins at an incline of 45 degrees: Then the trunk begins to slide. “Then the shear bars always have to be under pressure,” says Renk, whose commands are: “The pastor’s side pushes!” Or: “The landlord pushes on!” The most dangerous situation usually arises when the longest shear bars are used. Then the Stachlers are important, who ensure safety with strength and brains. Otherwise the long shear bars would fall over, hitting the lower bars and creating a chain reaction. “Then you need ice-cold dogs who stand still, everyone then takes off,” says Manfred Renk.

In order for the boys to hold out until the end, they are strictly forbidden to drink alcohol during the line-up. They will be given soda and water. Drinking breaks are also planned in Taufkirchen, during which the girls take care of the boys. But they also get beer. “But really only in moderation,” as announcer novice Florian Büchlmeir emphasizes.

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