"Our great wish": Chances for Bergkirchweih are apparently increasing - big change planned
Created: 2022-04-02 09:14
By: Katarina Amtmann
This is what it looked like at the Erlangen Bergkirchweih 2017.
© IMAGO / imagebroker
Will the Bergkirchweih take place in Erlangen after the Corona break?
The folk festival is more likely, but there would be a big change.
Erlangen - The Bergkirchweih belongs to Erlangen like the Oktoberfest to Munich.
Due to the corona pandemic, however, just like the Wiesn, it did not take place recently.
And this year?
After all, Sunday (April 3) is Corona “Freedom Day” in Bavaria, and many rules will then expire.
Among other things, the mask requirement only applies in facilities such as medical practices or hospitals, but no longer in supermarkets.
So do the loosening of the rules make the "berch" more likely?
Erlangen Bergkirchweih is more likely - the city gives hope
The city of Erlangen itself is at least nurturing the hopes of folk festival fans.
"Chances for Bergkirchweih are increasing", is the title of the latest press release from Friday (April 1st), because: "The ban on folk festivals and church consecrations in the Infection Protection Measures Ordinance has fallen." In Bavaria, after a long Corona break, the first folk festivals are taking place again, for example in Würzburg.
Even Prime Minister Markus Söder was there.
This would also increase the chances that the Erlangen Bergkirchweih can be held from June 2nd to 13th as planned.
"It is our great wish that we can finally celebrate a Bergkirchweih again this Pentecost year," Mayor Florian Janik is quoted as saying.
"We are therefore currently planning as if the festival can take place, whereby we are preparing various scenarios".
The folk festival traditionally begins on the Thursday before Pentecost.
Whether and how it can take place this year ultimately depends on the general conditions then in force.
“We first had to painfully learn how quickly the requirements for major events can change due to the pandemic when the Christmas market was canceled at short notice,” Janik continued.
Bergkirchweih in Erlangen: 3G and admission controls?
change in music
We are currently considering different directions.
"Topics such as 3G or admission controls are of course included in the scenarios," the city continued.
Ultimately, the decisions about which measures are actually to be implemented can only be made shortly beforehand.
The considerations also revolve around the topic of music.
On the traditionally well-attended five evenings on the long Pentecost weekend and the second weekend in the mountains, the tone is deliberately calmer this year.
There will also be uniform music breaks.
"The aim of these measures is also to meet the pandemic conditions," explains "Bergreferent" and event manager Konrad Beugel.
One wants to equalize the rush on the site on the days mentioned.
Bergkirchweih in Erlangen despite Corona: 2G or 3G possible - upper limits of persons should be avoided
“The Free State of Bavaria is currently making few specifications for holding folk festivals.
This means that for many questions, the responsibility for how we hold the festival in the ongoing pandemic lies with us," said Mayor Janik.
At the same time, however, one must also be prepared for short-term requirements from the federal or state governments.
“At a Bergkirchweih we can hardly or not at all implement many things that might be conceivable on a classic fairground.
It will soon no longer be a 'mountain' as we know and love it," Janik continues.
Beugel refers to the high density of people on the site.
"Under the special conditions on the site, we have to think through whether and how we have to rely on a 3- or even 2-G concept.
What we definitely want to avoid are upper limits for people.
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Ten things you need to know about the Erlangen Bergkirchweih
Erlangen Bergkirchweih: showman interest great despite corona uncertainties
Planning for the Bergkirchweih usually begins in the autumn of the previous year.
This time, due to the many uncertainties, it only started in February.
Konrad Beugel explains: “In our planning and preparations, we have to run through a large number of scenarios, which is an enormous feat for us.
And the imponderables are still immense.
Nobody knows today which infection protection measures we have to enforce and which we don't.
We are in close contact with the showmen and hosts to find out what works and what doesn't.” At least the showmen's great interest is certain.
Despite the situation, around 400 applications for the Bergkirchweih were received.
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