The awarding of the annual orders is an integral part of the ceremonial of the carnival societies.
The graphic designer and artist Helmut Blümel has designed the medals for the Würmesia for the last 13 years.
Würmtal
– An era is coming to an end.
Helmut Blümel designed 13 annual medals for the Würmesia carnival society.
For 13 years, the board of the Würmesia could simply reach into the drawer for the enthronement of the respective new prince couple and conjure up a new order of Blümel.
All you had to do was enter the names of the current royal couple and determine how many copies should be made.
The carnival society did not have it that easy in all respects.
In recent years there has been a lack of offspring and royal couples, with the closure of the ballroom of the Planegger Gaststätte Heide-Volm, it lost its stronghold, sponsors became fewer.
But there was one thing she could always rely on: she had Blümel's annual order in her drawer.
From the same mould
The artist had done a good job.
Helmut Blümel had designed the medals that the carnival society gives out to people who are inclined to them every year in one fell swoop.
They should be of one piece, the Würmesia decided.
The motif was also fixed: twelve medals were each to depict a Morisco dancer, the thirteenth the Queen of May.
Last week, Blümel was awarded the Order of the Queen of May at the princely couple's enthronement ball.
The series in his study in Aubing is now as complete as it was in the Würmesia drawer 13 years ago.
Because not only mayors and sponsors were presented with Morisco dancers for twelve years, the artist also received one Morisco after the other.
His personal copies remind him of how his friend, the artist Josef Wahl, pointed out the possibility of designing the medals for Würmesia.
He had designed the awards for the previous 13 years.
"Of course I had to come up with something new," says Blümel.
He went to the Munich City Museum to see the famous Morisco dancers carved by Erasmus Grasser in 1480.
In Murnau, Weilheim and Oberammergau he also saw them carved out of wood in shop windows.
He made pencil sketches, then a line drawing with ink and finally he designed it with different colors on the computer.
Graphically modernized, the Würmesia bought all 13 motifs from him at once.
"I am an artist"
Blümel was an engraver, repro photographer, chemigrapher and graphic artist by profession, he says.
He always drew, even as a young man he took drawing lessons.
That's why he says about himself: "I'm an artist." He exhibits regularly at the Pasinger Fabrik and in Aubing, he designed the official beer mug for the Munich Spring Festival in 2008 and for the 1200-year celebration of the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche in Fröttmaning he a painting, postcards and a postage stamp.
As far as the design of the medals for the carnival society is concerned, Blümel was tempted by the fact that all 13 have to fit together harmoniously, but the effect of each one is slightly different.
He is happy when he meets mayors from the Würmtal valley and they tell him that they like the medals.
"That makes you proud."
In the beginning, a few hundred pieces of each annual order were made.
Today there are significantly fewer.
"There are no more sponsors," says Blümel.
The medals used to be of higher quality, but today they are no longer enamelled.
successor is fixed
Now a different artist will be responsible for the design of the next 13 Annual Orders.
The President of Würmesia Pia Serve has not yet revealed who it will be.
Blümel's era is over, but he will remain loyal to the carnival society.
"You'll definitely see me next year," he says.
For 13 years he has not missed an enthronement and only one presentation of the royal couple at Marienplatz.
“You have to see what the successors are doing,” he says.
But the real reason why he will remain connected to Würmesia is as follows: "The princely couples always have a great charisma." You can simply have a good chat with them.
But you won't see him at Würmesia's balls in the future either: "Unfortunately, I have two left feet," he says.
In return, his hands have served the Würmesia well.