A child, a look and then a cry: “The wild men! There they are!” So go ahead, cheer into the fray! The little girl could hardly see the wild men, but there were far too many adults blocking her view. But you couldn’t ignore them, thanks to the tinkling of their more or less large bells, which they had strapped to their backs or broad leather belts. It rattled with every step.
A whole horde of shaggy monsters marched through the city center on Sunday afternoon, flanked by several thousand people who formed a trellis and directed the wild goings-on in an orderly manner – from Sendlinger Strasse to Rindermarkt and the Christkindlmarkt on Marienplatz all the way to Kaufingerstrasse. After two years of a forced break due to corona, a Krampus run took place again this year, organized by the Sparifankerl-Pass, which is dialect for devil group. Since the beginning of this millennium, those responsible for the Sparifankerl in Munich have been committed to preserving and maintaining this Advent custom, which has meanwhile almost been forgotten.
It is particularly common in the Alps and has its roots in pagan traditions: the demonic figures were originally intended to drive away evil spirits. Since the Christians, for their part, could not drive these figures out of the minds of the mountain and valley dwellers, they quickly integrated them into their faith and placed them alongside St. Nicholas. While the good children are given presents, the Krampus punishes the naughty ones, usually with a brushwood rod. In contrast to Knecht Ruprecht, who works in northern Germany, the Krampus does not come alone, but in packs.
Representatives from around 20 traditional associations from Bavaria, Austria and even Italy arrived on Sunday.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
The scary figures usually wear full body skins…
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
…and elaborately carved wooden masks with turned horns, long teeth or chattering teeth.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
The Krampuses are usually in full-body skins and under elaborately carved wooden masks with turned horns, long teeth and sometimes chattering teeth. Sparifankerl chairman Tom Bierbaumer estimated this year’s number of participants at around 300 blockheads. Krampus Day is actually December 5th, the eve of St. Nicholas Day.
Bierbaumer explained that the run in Munich took place just under a week later: “On December 5th, most of the groups are out in their home villages, so we do it after St. Nicholas or just before Christmas – that’s when I get all the nice groups together. ” Around 20 local customs associations from Bavaria, Austria and even Italy arrived on Sunday to parade around the houses and stalls of the Christmas market.
After almost two hours, the spook was over, the “Big Run”, as Bierbaumer called the show. In the past, there were also small Krampus runs, where apart from the people from Munich only two or three other groups took part. But the XXL version prevailed and obviously survived the corona waves, as could be seen from the response. Besides, there were not only wild men about, as the little girl had suspected, but also some wild women. But you didn’t recognize them until they took off their masks.