Kirchseeoner Trachtler: "We've already played to AC/DC"

Created: 01/15/2023, 16:49

By: Robert Langer

Generation change: Bettina Scharnagl and Florian Götz now run the Kirchseeon Trachtler.

He is the son and she is the granddaughter of the long-time chairman Josef Götz.

© Stefan Rossmann

Many traditional costume clubs in Bavaria have problems with young people.

Not so the Kirchseeoner Seetaler.

Interview with Bettina Scharnagl and Florian Götz about the traditional costume association of the future

Kirchseeon

– The Seetaler Kirchseeon traditional costume association with around 210 active members, plus around 25 girls and boys under the age of 17, has a new board.

Josef Götz managed the club for 30 years, supported by his wife Gisela and a well-established team.

Josef Götz did not stand in the most recent elections.

His successor is his son Florian Götz (44), who works in the IT industry.

Bettina Scharnagl (29) is also on the board as a youth leader (librarian).

She is the granddaughter of Josef Götz.

We spoke to both of them about offers in the club, new approaches and openness.

Is the Kirchseeon Trachtenverein a family business?

Florian Götz (laughs): There is an elected board.

But it is of course true that a certain family tradition is noticeable.

We just grew into it.

Before I became a board member, I was the club's Vorplattler for 24 years.

I put myself up for election.

If I hadn't become a board member, it wouldn't have been an issue for me either.

I wouldn't have left the club because of that.

Bettina Scharnagl: I learned to love traditional costumes and everything related to them from my parents and grandparents.

Staying with me later was a conscious decision of mine.

It was just nice to see how passionately my grandfather and everyone else was there.

Maybe it looks like a family business.

But then there are many families who get involved.

But very clearly: every member of the association is like a family member.

We're very open about that.

And we are very much alive.

It's all about the community experience: young people from Kirchseeon in traditional costume on a float.

© Private

Florian: You can't force anyone into an office if the club wants to be successful as a community.

You have to want that yourself.

Wearing traditional costumes is certainly a tradition in Bavaria.

But there are many variants.

Another point is that the background to many customs in Upper Bavaria is more Catholic.

But we are open here too.

We would be happy if everyone felt comfortable with us, regardless of religion and attitude.

Everyone is human.

Having fun is important.

I know traditional costume clubs, where negotiations are held behind closed doors about the admission of new members, the potential new member is at the door and has to wait.

It's not like that with us.

We offer newcomers the opportunity to make contact.

And we also hope that when families with children move away again,

What makes the Kirchseeon Trachtler special?

Bettina: It's all about cohesion.

Everyone helps everyone.

We have a lot to offer at the club.

We sing, we play theatre, we dance, we make music, we record and we have Goasslschnoizer.

Children do handicrafts together, listen to stories read to them.

We need people to organize events and the technology behind them, such as lighting or sound.

You don't have to wear a costume for this.

All members are part of a community, not lone wolves.

But the costume is a central point.

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Fancy a voyage of discovery?

My space

Florian: Right.

At performances, for example.

Clothing can be expensive.

A four-digit amount could come together.

The association therefore offers solutions for purchasing traditional costumes to members who would like to become active wearers of traditional costumes and cannot yet afford them.

The association provides the costumes for the children.

And by the way, folk dancing is also possible in jeans.

We also have many passive members who don't wear lederhosen or dirndls.

What about traditional Bavarian music?

Florian: That is of course important to us.

But we've also platted to AC/DC songs.

If the right rhythm is in there, it's possible. And it's also a lot of fun.

Purists would turn away in horror, right?

Florian: Probably.

What will be different with the new board of directors?

Florian: Actually not much, but at the same time a lot.

We are younger, but continue the successful work of the past years.

What does that mean for the future of the Kirchseeon Trachtler?

Florian: Tradition and modernity have to come together.

We are a community that has grown, but it is not rigid, but is evolving.

In Kirchseeon we are partly a satellite town of Munich, but we also have a life of our own.

We have over 50 clubs locally.

But some of them you see and hear nothing.

We want to be present and stay present.

What does this mean for the board?

Florian: Despite all the experience we have already gained, the new board still has a lot to learn.

You can't do that from the internet.

Our predecessors, who continue to contribute, are important.

A modern image is also important.

For example, we have our own YouTube channel and the website on the Internet has been revised.

What new approaches are there?

Florian: For example, we have expanded our club evening offer and are now also doing open folk dance evenings in the rectory.

At the same time, we still have a club economy.

We get along very well with the host.

And we have a beginner's course for Schuhplatteln.

If you do it intensively later on, it can be really exhausting, better than a gym.

During Corona it was difficult.

We tried to practice dancing online on the internet.

But that didn't work.

There were delays in the transmission.

Then the rhythm didn't fit anymore.

Kunifred is the name of the new mascot © Privat

Bettina: We do yoga with the children during rehearsals, for example, to relax and concentrate.

We want to do more, especially in youth work.

Many things are already working very well.

We also want to go to the kindergartens and we have a new mascot.

That means Kunifred, a combination of Kunigunde and Manfred, i.e. male and female.

Kunifred is a real Wolpertinger, a legendary figure.

It should express the diversity of our association.

We look forward to meeting the children.