The next blog post is coming up, what should I write about? About a summer recipe or a hike on the Rossbrand?
Hang on, it's August and we Radstadt locals know what the first weekend in August brings. Put on your traditional costume and get up on the table. The “Gardefest” (Guards’ Festival) is calling!
In my childhood, the “Gardefest” was always a family reunion for me, if I can call it that. All my relatives came, and we celebrated together. Now that I'm 21, Sunday is still always a family day where everyone gets together and has a good time. The other 2 days I always go out with my friends, and we party until the early hours of the morning. After these 3 days, I'm always relieved if I don't do anything for the next few days, but the “Guards’ Weekend” pays off every year!
Before I tell you about my experience, I would like to briefly tell you how the Citizens' Guard and the Guards’ Festival actually came about:
The year 1289 is mentioned in the town charter as the year in which the Citizens' Guard was founded. With the granting of the town charter by Archbishop ‘Rudolf von Hohenegg’, the citizens were obliged to defend the town of Radstadt, and an armed citizenry was formed. The very first Guards’ Festival took place in 1965 and there was no huge marquee back then. Only the pond tower and the forecourt in front of the tower were used for the first Guards’ Festival. For the second festival, a tent with planks and poles was erected in the Stöcklgarten in Radstadt. For the next few years, the festival was held in the pond car park and was already a bit bigger. In 1972 the Gardefest became increasingly popular and in 1982 the number of visitors began to rise steadily. Due to the increasing number of visitors, the Gardefest was moved to the current Garde car park and the Gardefest is still held here today. 2014 saw the 725th anniversary of the Radstadt Guards and this was celebrated in style. To this day, the number of visitors increases from year to year and the festival site has been greatly enlarged in recent years. Visitors are now not only in the marquee, but also outside the festival site. Either at the bumper cars or Crazywave ride or in the pirate ship at the town pond. In the Pond Tower, or ‘Guards’ Tower’ as most people call it, the party continues into the early hours of the morning as soon as the marquee closes.
Well then, enough history. Here's an insight into my first Garda Day this year. Have fun reading! PS: The answers to my questions are all from the Head of the Guards, Harald Gappmaier😉.
‘Finally, it's Friday, which means the first day of the Guards’ Festival. I've been looking forward to today all day and I think my work colleagues have noticed that too. Yay, finally off duty. I pack my things and quickly say goodbye to my colleagues. ‘See you all later,’ I shout to them. Today is the first time I'm going to the Gardefest with my work colleagues. It's sure to be fun!
When I get home, I throw on my dirndl dress, do my hair and go over my make-up again. ‘That’s fine,’ I say to my reflection in the mirror. Now I quickly grab something to eat and pack my bag and off I go! ‘Stop!’ shouted my mum. ‘Haven't you forgotten something?’ she asks me. I think about it, but I can't think of anything. ‘The bow on your dirndl isn't tied properly. After all, you're taken, so put it on the right side,’ my mum says to me. Tying it on the right-hand side shows that the woman is taken, engaged or married. On the left, on the other hand, is for singles. True to the motto: ‘Tie it on the left for good luck.’ 😉
‘OK, thanks mum, I'm off then,’ I say to her and quickly walk out of the front door. On the way to the town square, I realise that this year is already the 58th Gardefest. I keep asking myself who came up with this great idea...
At the time, Lieutenant Hans Schnell had the idea of combining the upcoming flag dedication with a festival. The general assembly agreed to this proposal and so the first Guard Festival took place on 7 August 1965. Since then, we have never missed a Guard Festivals’ (except during Covid ☹) and, as a Guard lover, I am already looking forward to many more years of Guards’ Festivals.
When I arrive at the town square, I can already see my work colleagues and many other spectators waiting for the first notes of music from the Radstadt town band. 7.30 pm, the town band marches in and the guards line up. I cover my ears, it's about to get loud! Boom, the cannon fires, now it's time to march - left, right, left, right over to the marquee.
‘It’s so busy, luckily there's a table reserved for us,’ I think to myself as I enter the marquee. Just as I've sat down, the waitress comes and asks us what we want to order. Of course, the first thing I say is ‘A chicken please’. Did you know that the Gardefest has the best chicken? If not, give it a try! 😉 ‘I've been looking forward to the chicken all week,’ I say to my work colleague. She laughs and says ‘We'll definitely have to wait a bit with this crowd’. I wonder how many staff will be needed on these 3 days to make sure everyone gets everything served as quickly as possible? .....
The guard consists of 60 members, who all work hard, but another 100 people are needed to ensure that everything runs as quickly as possible. External companies also help out at the Gardefest. Probably one of the most popular companies is the one that prepares the famous Garde chicken!
Ah, there's our food already. I enjoy my chicken and decide to wash it down with a Radler (shandy). I'll never understand how you can drink beer with your food or how you can be a beer lover in general. Every second person I see has a beer in their hand. How much beer will be drunk over the three days....?
A total of 4,200 litres of beer will be drunk. If you then add in the Radler, we're looking at 6,000-7,000 litres in total. Would you have guessed right?
When everyone has finished eating, Harald, the head of the guard, comes over to check that everything is going well.My boss and he chat for a while and I realise how much had to be done again this year to get everything as right as possible. It must be very demanding for Harald to plan everything, I think....
‘Yes, it's very exhausting, because we're already preparing for the next guard year. It always takes 1.5 - 2 years to organise the Gardefest. We want everything to run perfectly and for everyone to have fun,’ Harald says to me.
After Harald has gone on, I can already hear the conductor of the town band shouting ‘Jugs in your hands and up on the table’. After the first note, I already know what's going on. The first, unmistakable bars of the Rainer March ring out and the whole marquee is on the tables. Everyone sings along from the bottom of their lungs and claps to the beat. This song always brings a grin to my face, as the Rainer March was always a highlight for me as a child. I wonder what the Head Guard’s absolute highlight was over the years? ....
Sunday afternoons are always a highlight for me. You always think it's coming to an end from 2.00 pm onwards. But it's precisely at these times that the bands create such a good atmosphere that the tent is full again in just a few minutes. This means that most visitors' thoughts of “going home” disappear very quickly 😉.
After the Rainer March is over, most of the visitors stay at the table anyway, as the first band for this year's Gardefest, ‘Die Lauser’, is about to start. The bands this year are once again great, and the atmosphere is even better. What has probably been the best band for the Garde in all these years....?
Harald recognises a good band by the mood of the guests. They've already had bands that created a really good atmosphere the first time and unfortunately went a little under the radar the second time. So it's even more difficult to tell which band is good and which is not. This year, the Nockis will be performing on Sunday, so I think everyone is curious to see how crowded the tent will be. Everyone knows the Nockis!
The tent fills up more and more and despite everything, you can't see the waiters or the guards under any stress. I would probably have lost my head long ago with such a crowd. Ah, there's Harald, I ask him briefly if he doesn't think this situation is stressful...
He just laughs at my question and says: ‘2014 was one of the most exhausting years. This weekend, the tent was already in full swing again on Saturday afternoon. Actually, the music is only turned up all day on Sunday. The reason for this was the 725th anniversary and this had to be celebrated properly!’
My work colleagues and I stayed for a while and celebrated together until it was time to go home. Even though I stayed longer😉, I go out with them and we say goodbye. I then make my way to my friends and continue celebrating with them. Many hours pass and suddenly it's already 04:00 in the morning. ‘OK, now I have to go to bed too,’ I say to my friends. I say goodbye to them and on the way home I think about what the Gardefest of the future will look like.
I don't want anything new for the Gardefest. I want everything to stay the same as in previous years. Above all, for everyone to pull together, as has been the case in previous years, and that nothing bad happens.
When I get home, I go to bed and in a few minutes I'm fast asleep. I'll probably be dreaming about the next two Gardefest Days, which I'm already really looking forward to!
PS: On the subject of sustainability at the Gardefest, I have learnt that the Garde has been paying a lot of attention to this issue for several years. They use paper plates for the chicken and hard plastic for the cups at the bar. This means that the cups are sent back to the respective company after the Gardefest, where they are then washed and reused next year.
A big thank you to Harald Gappmaier for the interview!
Congratulations also to the Guard, this weekend was once again outstanding!
Here is a short review of the 58th Gardefest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV1L-U2VWoM
See you again next year 😊.
photo credits: Selina Althuber, TVB Radstadt Lorenz Masser