Der Georgiritt, riding with St. George

 An annual blessing of the horses takes place every Easter Monday in a little town to the east of Erlangen. This year we had great weather, so the onlookers were numerous, and we were too late for Knieküchla, literally "little knee cakes," named because they look like the dough was stretched over the baker's knee before being fried and dredged in sugar. But we saw the parade of horses.  It starts out with a procession out of the church led by the local priest and the altar boys carrying a statue of St. George, who is the patron saint of horses and riders.

wooden statue of St. George

Then the local priest blesses the horses, and a parade begins.

It's led by the mayor 

the mayor

and then the local priest

the local priest

Next are the drums. The rest of the band must wait back a distance behind the horses. Horses are easily spooked.

drums don't spook the horses?

 

A wagon carrying people in traditional costumes (Tracht, pronounced "traht") comes next. Notice the young unmarried women with the crowns. The woman who graciously let us take her picture with Richard wore Tracht that she inherited from her grandmother. Most of her clothing was 100 years old.

 

people in tracht

 

maidens' crowns

 

100-year old Tracht

Next come the beautiful horses. 

 

 

 

Even the humble come to be blessed. 

a humble donkey

 

 

The parade ends up back at the church. The church was built at the end of the 1400s as a Wehrkirche, which means a fortified church.

the Wehrkirche in Effeltrich

 

 The entrance to the fortress has statues of St. Lawrence and others above the gate.

entrance gate on left-hand side of fortress wall

The area between the fortress and the church is a graveyard.

inside the fortress wall

view of church entrance from entrance gate

 Inside the church are the baroque decorations.

inside the church

Across the street from the church is the "Thousand-Year Linde", a linden tree that is probably about 800 years old.

 

1000-year Linde

The village used to hold dances in its branches.

See our previous blogs at 2007 (skip down to the heading "Easter Monday Excursion")  and   2015  (Osterbrunnen: decorated town fountains with evergreen and colored eggs before Easter)