Weil der Stadt

City walls surrounding much of Weil der Stadt

Weil der Stadt Coat of Arms

Eagle: Free Imperial City
SPQR: Roman Senate & People
Keys: Catholic Church, as
on Vatican Flag

Forty minutes via the S6 local train from Stuttgart, we arrived at Weil der Stadt, located in the green Wurm Valley on the Württemberg side of the enchanting Black Forest. Also situated in the Greater Stuttgart Region, more specifically Kreis (County) Böblingen, Weil der Stadt with its present name dates back to medieval times. Spared much damage during the Second World War, the town remains original, proudly boasting memorials to her famous sons Johannis Kepler, the renowned early 17th-century astronomer, and Johannis Brenz (They aren't real original on first names are they?), a student of Martin Luther and who was instrumental in bringing the Reformation to Württemberg, although oddly enough after the Reformation, Weil der Stadt remained a Catholic city. Brenz died in 1570, the year before Kepler was born. Evidently, the bombardment of the town by the French military during WWII was called off in respect to the fact that this is the birthplace of that famous astronomer. To think that a person who had been dead some 300 odd years saved his town from destruction says loads.

One a several original towers still remaining in the walls

Upon arrival, the town is indeed immediately impressive in its historical architectural vestments which outnumber anything more modern located there. This of course pleases your writer very much. Fachwerkhäuser are in abundance; so much so, that for one of the rare times in my life, I didn't bother trying to capture every one of them on film. 

Narrenzunft or Fools' Guildhall

I found very interesting the origin of the town's name. Evidently, 'Weil' emerged from the Latin word vila/villa, which not only referred to a town, but also perhaps a manor/estate of sorts which originated any settlement here. (This is how I understood it in any case.) Long after the Romans were gone, 'Weil' was evidently granted the status of Stadt, which means town or city in German. 'der' is the feminine possessive 'of the', so Weil of the Town/City (Weil der Stadt) came about to distinguish this particular 'Weil' from Weil im Dorf (Weil in the Village), for example. 

Holding the emblem of the Free Imperial City of Weil der Stadt

As many of you may already be aware, vast swathes of  Germany were part of the Roman Empire many centuries ago, so its Roman heritage traces are not uncommon at all here. Weil der Stadt once belonged to the powerful Abbey of Hirsau, which I reported on earlier. This was in the first half of the 11th century. Later, Weil der Stadt was to become a Free Imperial City, granting it special trade and military rights amongst other things.

In 1648, Weil der Stadt was utterly destroyed in the Thirty-Years War and was rebuilt into what we see today. It is dominated by its massive St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic church located in the center of town, where a statue in honor of Johannis Kepler can be seen. 

The wall and towers of the city, so much of what still remain today, are what impress me the most. A walk around the outside as well as parts of the inside (where the wall doesn't actually constitute one of the walls of an interior building) give a good idea of how and for what city walls were used, even today.

Tower of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul rises behind the
Marktplatz statue of Weil der Stadt's most renowned son,
the astronomer Johannis Kepler.

Weil der Stadt is also home to some of the ancient guilds which, although perhaps changed in their modern-day functions, proudly continue to operate, for example in the Narrenzunft, or Fools' Guild here in town. As Carnival is very important here and wonderfully celebrated with a colorful and historic parade of ancient carnival costumes, it would be worth the visit during the Carnival season. The parade itself is held at Fastnacht, or as the locals would say in their Swabian dialect, Fastnet. Visit my report on this topic during the Europe-wide celebration of Narrenfest that took place in Bad Cannstatt some years ago. Participants from the guilds of Weil der Stadt were indeed represented during that brilliant event!

I highly recommend a visit to Weil der Stadt. If you can be there during Fastnet, you will have an experience and loads of photos that you will likely never forget; however, plan carefully for any visit because it is only on one day and the crowds are large. Still, it would be absolutely worth it. Any other time of the year to visit would also be rewarding. Its proximity to Stuttgart via train or car is convenient and only about 20 miles (approx. 30 kilometers) away. It is easily a day trip or less.

Click here to see an Aerial video of Weil der Stadt. You will be able to get a better idea of how small the town is and get a nice view from above.

How to get there:

From Stuttgart via train, take the S6 from underground at the  main station in the direction of Weil der Stadt. If all is running on time, it should be just under 40 minutes.

From Stuttgart via car, head out west of the city on the B14 and follow the signs to Weil der Stadt. Altogether, traffic aside (based on traffic patterns in 2016), it should take under 40 minutes.

Well, if you're going to be a fool, at least be a colorful one! Going back to Narrenfest 2009 in Bad Cannstatt

Narrenfest

or

Festival of Fools

Narrenfest, Bad Cannstatt, Germany, January 2009

One of my favorite memories of living in Bad Cannstatt came about on a sunny Sunday morning a few years ago, which turned into a chilly afternoon surrounded by a bunch, no - a mob, of fools. And I mean legitimate fools. It was Narrenfest - a festival of fools who spent part of the year practicing to be fools, and being proud of being fools in a celebration of fools which has lasted for hundreds of years! All sounds a tad foolish, doesn't it? 

I had started out on a late morning stroll down from above the vineyards where I was living at the time. It was a January morning and I noticed that people were starting to line the streets leading to the Old Town. I figured I would just stand there with them until whatever it was that was going to pass by made its way by me for my inspection. I had no idea what to expect, but as I usually never go out without a camera or smartphone, I was ready.

Twins separated at birth

I was first in line on the street. I stood my ground for what turned out to be the most exciting parade filled with the largest assortment of masks and ancient costumes I had ever seen anywhere in the world - and I have been in many countries on several continents. More than a dozen different countries were participating in this time-honored event and it was a photographer's paradise. I ended up being swept along with it right into the middle of the Old Town until I was standing directly in front of the former Bad Cannstatt Rathaus with thousands of other people who had come from many parts of Europe to take part or watch. I was there for hours just clicking away, praying the batteries would hold out on my camera. 480 shots later, well, I guess they did their part.

Narrenfest is nothing new. The celebration, or festival thereof, has been going on forever in these parts. And it has always involved    COLOR!

Now have a look at these young lovelies. Tell me these aren't the dreams of all bachelor party celebrations, no? They would certainly be at the top of my list for entertainment! (Certainly brides would prefer these ladies to be the ones poppin' out of the bachelor's cake, right?)

           

I cannot swear that behind these masks there are no women at all today; however, I do in fact know that the  medieval Zunft, or guild, to witch these whiches (or vice-versa) belong was  originally only men. After all, this dates in one form or another all the way back to Heaven knows when: medieval times or even the Dark Ages? But, clearly there are women participating in other costumes as they twirl, jump, hop, and wind their way in the long parade through the streets. Be advised: this particular international event does not take place every year. On this special occasion involved guilds and participants from many different countries. The United States even had a small contingent! The Fest of Fools does in fact take place each year in communities all over central Europe, but these usually include the local townsfolk. I happened upon this international festival by luck, and I guess it was double luck that it was also in my town of Bad Cannstatt.

For anyone interested in the history of festivals and pagan holidays, this is most certainly one to research. The best way to do so is to simply come here to  experience it. An expensive way, for sure, but definitely worth it. Of course, one of the most famous of all such events is in the town of Rotweil (that's right, home of the famous dog), a beautifully medieval town which lies south of Stuttgart in the Lower Black Forest region of Württemberg. Their traditional event is especially known for being most accurate as regards following the traditions of the parade are concerned, but one must get up early in the morning to participate in this fantastic, annual event. 

Some of the massive costumes, besides being very warm, if not hot, for the wearers, can be most frightening, not only to children, but also to some more mature guests. I think I may have annoyed some of them by my constant grin from ear to ear as they passed by. I was in history heaven!

      

        

As mentioned earlier, people came from all sorts of countries. Some of the bore their flags as they paraded, such as this pointed-nose group from Belgium on the right.

Slovenia was sighted as well at the Narrenfest. The young couple below were a part of that group.

The almost buffalo-like, long-haired "fools" from Eastern Europe were also particularly interesting for the crowd, as they twirled and danced with their massive, heavy head pieces. The masks themselves were of large pieces of wood, and as seen below, they begin at young ages. Not only the weight of the headdresses, but also the heavy bells tied to ropes around their waists. Their constant swinging and spinning made a cacophony of dull, tinny clangs that no one could miss, like a stampede of Swiss cows running to the barn for feeding time. Every few minutes, these participants had to remove their "heads" in order to down half a bottle of water or so. 

The masks were so heavy on these guys, they had to hold them in place to be able to see properly through them. The ram horns adorning these headdresses were real. (Ouch!)

  

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Well, as mentioned above, color plays a large part at Narrenfest. As your dear writer here is not old enough to recall how it was in the early days of these events back in medieval times, I nonetheless think that the more ancient of these costumes are probably rather authentic; but, at the same time, I guess over the past 500 years even these guilds have made changes themselves, so maybe I had better catch up, too. Let's have a look at some more of the colorful parts of the Narrenfest parade here:

Any idea how much all these bells weigh? Any idea how noisy this parade was,
especially when mixed with all the applause and cheers of the people?

            

This little marcher (above right) was no more than 13 years old. Each of this group carried a box of chocolates. Your chocoholic writer here followed them for quite a while in hopes that they had a giving spirit. Alas, they didn't. 

But who cares under these circumstances. I mean, look at that color - chocolate or no chocolate! It was a party. The beauty of this is that these happy and colorful events have descended down through the centuries from just after the Dark Ages - and no doubt there were similar festivals during and before! The Church was all-powerful in every aspect of life at this time. The control that it had over citizens throughout Europe was also practiced through the threat of loss of salvation. It was so easy to be labeled a heretic, and this simply wasn't advantageous to one's livelihood, let alone one's life span! This opportunity to dress up and hide behind a mask to basically let loose before the Lenten season was a time to make satire about the religious and secular powers that existed at the time. The Catholic Church was not particularly comfortable with it all, since even priests were known to participate in the revelry. Stories certainly exist of leading members of the hierarchy in Rome warning their celebratory brethren not to be so involved in these events.

It was nearly impossible to catch these Bavarian participants when
they weren't twirling or slapping their thighs and kicking. Hence, blurry shot.

       

There were a lot of dizzy people at the end of the day.
At least, I thought there would have been.
Heaven knows I sure got dizzy watching!

Each of the mouths on these masks was different, 

but not one of them was sad.

So here you go: more masks and costumes. I cannot leave this page without putting more of these simply astounding masks and costumes on show for your perusal:

Something about these ladies(?) intrigued me.

And man, could they play!

A happy pair of fools

Erecting the festival pole in front of the Rathaus (Town Hall)

I am not sure, but I think these ladies came down from the Black Forest in Baden.

He reminded me of a human "smore"

There are several names for this time of year and the event. Narrenfest is directly related to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Fasching in the Rhineland of Germany, not to mention other pre-Lenten events. It his traditionally held on Rosenmontag, otherwise known as "Shrovetide", which is before Shrove Tuesday, amongst several other ancient names. This is the Monday directly before Ash Wednesday.