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The traditionally dressed Sorbian Easter riders announce the Easter message on horseback according to old custom. © Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
Christian customs always attract people to Lusatia at Easter. There the message of the resurrection is announced on horseback.
Dresden/Bautzen/Rathen - church services, customs, calls for peace - people in Saxony celebrated Easter in very different ways over the weekend. In mild temperatures, tens of thousands lined the Feldraine and country roads in East Saxony on Easter Sunday to see the Sorbian Easter riders. Protestant and Catholic churches were well filled, and it wasn't just Christians who fetched Easter water and met around the Easter fire. Adults were baptized on Easter Vigil - also in Dresden's Frauenkirche.
The traditional Easter and seed riding attracted tens of thousands to Lusatia - and many hikers, walkers and families into nature. According to police information from Easter Monday, around 49,500 onlookers lined the processions with a total of 1,475 horses in the Sorbian settlement area northeast of Dresden and in Ostritz south of Görlitz. There were reportedly no disturbances. Only other road users needed “strong nerves” because of the “significant” restrictions in favor of preserving customs.
In the bilingual triangle Kamenz-Bautzen-Hoyerswerda, young people and men have been carrying the message of Christ's resurrection on decorated horses from their home church around the cemetery and fields to the next town for centuries on Easter Sunday - in tailcoats and top hats, singing and praying while bells ring, with a cross, church flags and the statue of the Resurrected One. The roots of the custom go back to pre-Christian times, when it was believed that field rides could protect young seeds from evil.
Almost summer temperatures also attracted excursions on Saturday and Easter Sunday - hiking in the rocky world of Saxon Switzerland, going for a walk in the woods or going for a picnic and Easter egg hunt in gardens and parks. “Masses” were out and about in Saxon Switzerland, as a police spokesman said. In the cities, outdoor spaces were populated by cafés and beer gardens and wineries along the Elbe between Diesbar and Dresden-Pillnitz served wine - even though Saharan dust obscured the sun.
On Saturday, several hundred people followed the call of an initiative “Leipzig Against War” and marched through the center of the trade fair city. On banners and signs they called for peace and negotiations for Ukraine and Gaza, and protested against armaments and arms deliveries to war zones. According to the police, 350 people took part at the peak and there were no disruptions. An Easter march in Chemnitz had already brought people together on Good Friday; according to the police, 215 people took part. dpa