The association committees of the "Leonhardivereins Peißenberg-Ammerhöfe" struggled internally for a long time - but in the end there was no other choice: Accordingly, the traditional Leonhardi trip will be deleted from the calendar this year due to the corona pandemic - and without replacement.
Peißenberg
- The Peißenberger Leonhardifahrt is a high mass for religious and rural customs, and every time it attracts several thousand visitors.
The first pilgrimage took place in the village in 1898.
In the following period it was always scheduled for the last Sunday in October.
That would have been October 31st this year.
But on that day, no horse-drawn carts will go to the Maria-Aich-Kirche for the blessing.
The horses stay in the stable.
Last week, the majority of the committee of the "Leonhardivereins Peißenberg-Ammerhöfe" voted in favor of canceling the trip in honor of Saint Leonhard due to the corona pandemic - as it did last year.
There will also be no pilgrimage on a smaller scale, almost as a substitute event.
Too great a risk due to the pandemi
“The risk is simply too great,” explains club board member Stefan Schwaller when asked by the local newspaper: “What would a smaller event be? It is difficult to estimate in advance how many people will actually come. You can't control that. ”The problem is the requirements: With over 1000 visitors, the Leonhardiverein, as the organizer, would have to present a hygiene concept and monitor compliance with it. "But that is not feasible for us at the Maria-Aich-Kirche", knows Schwaller: "We cannot put up a site fence around the meadow."
For Schwaller, the renewed cancellation is a "huge problem", the pilgrimage is ultimately the highlight of the association year: "The cancellation is not just a mean, but a major catastrophe", regrets Schwaller.
It is the second year in a row that there will be no Leonhardi trip.
250 horses and 50 teams
As a rule there are around 250 horses and around 50 harnessed teams that pull over a loop through the “village” to the Maria-Aich-Church.
Characteristic for the Peißenberger Leonhardifahrt are the motif wagons, which are designed by local associations.
But will it be 19 cars in 2022?
That is rather questionable.
“We have enough teams,” emphasizes Schwaller.
But with the motif wagons, some clubs would have found it difficult to recruit enough staff for the design work even before the Corona crisis.
The two-year break could exacerbate the problem: "It may well be that one or the other club then jumps," Schwaller speculates.
Incidentally, there have already been several cancellations in the history of the Peißenberger Leonhardifahrt.
In 1989, for example, the equine flu was rampant.
The weather sometimes didn't play along either - like in 2012, when snow and storms made the pilgrimage impossible.
On October 31st, the Anger in front of the Maria-Aich-Church will be empty again.
“Perhaps a few will ride their horses to church privately,” Schwaller announces: “But that has nothing to do with the Leonhardi club.
This is not a public event. "
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