Great joy in Jesenwang: Willibaldritt is now part of German cultural heritage

Created: 03/11/2022, 08:56

By: Helga Zagermann

Impression of a Willi third party.

© Weber

The Willibaldritt in Jesenwang is now part of the intangible cultural heritage in Germany.

This makes the circle of friends, who have been organizing the traditional event since 1978, very happy.

Jesenwang – The award for the tradition that has existed since 1712 is just right: this year on July 10th the 300th Willibaldritt will be celebrated.

An e-mail from the German Unesco Commission to Martin Schmid announces the success.

It congratulates the chairman of the St. Willibald circle of friends on being included in the nationwide register of intangible cultural heritage.

This is a tribute to “the passing on of specific knowledge and skills in equestrian sports, horse husbandry and the organization of the festivities”.

The award is the culmination of a story that began in 2019.

The votive image

The association had a votive painting restored in the Willibald Church to mark its 40th anniversary.

It shows the saint blessing the animals.

The Bauer'sche Barockstiftung bore the costs of the restoration.

Schmid says: "They didn't even know about our ride.

But when we talked about it, it was said that one had to be included in the national register of intangible cultural heritage.”

With the help of district home nurse Susanne Poller and many other experts in the district, research was carried out and an application was made.

With success: the ride has been on the state list since 2020.

"But that almost went down a bit in the pandemic," says Schmid.

But the application from Jesenwang was so impressive that it was passed on from Munich to Berlin - to be included in the federal list.

So Schmid and Poller filled out another application.

"It was great for me, because I learned even more about the history of the ride," says Schmid.

During the research, previously unknown old documents had turned up.

By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular FFB newsletter

The event dates back to a vow peasants made in 1712 when they begged Saint Willibald for help in their distress.

At that time, a cattle disease was raging in the area.

The saint helped, the plague ended.

Since then, the ride has been held as a thank you – every year with a few exceptions.

And this is organized on a voluntary basis and with a view to animal welfare.

The passage through the church is unique.

In addition, Schmid had to prove in the application that there are no restrictions on participation - anyone who can ride a horse can take part.

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Everyone works together

For Schmid, the leap onto the federal list is a credit to everyone: "Customs can only be preserved if people live them." The recognition therefore applies to everyone involved.

Jesenwang's Mayor Erwin Fraunhofer believes that this is exactly what made the difference in the nationwide recognition: that everyone has been working together on the ride for decades.

He says;

"It's wonderful that we're now on the federal list.

That's a great success." Also thinks district home nurse Susanne Poller: "I'm really happy for the association and all those involved." is.

Unesco does not provide any information on how many applications there are each year.

One thing is certain: this year there were only five new recordings (see “Dear Reader”).

Financial support is not associated with the appointment.

But there is a certificate.

And there is a celebration at the 300th ride.

And then a bigger 2023 at the 1250 year celebration of the place.

You can find more current news from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck here.