Ceremonial Marksmen’s Guards in Salzburg
Social practices in Salzburg, inscribed 2010
Ceremonial marksmen’s guards serve as an element of local traditions all over the province of Salzburg. Although there exist massive differences from community to community, above all in terms of the weapons that see use (which range from traditional wooden rifles to hand cannons and full-sized canons), the responsibilities carried out by each marksmen’s guard organisation ("Schützenverein") in its respective community are very similar.
The origins of the marksmen’s guard tradition in Salzburg lie as far back as the 13th century. Today’s ceremonial marksmen’s guards are based primarily on the town and market town militias that formerly played an important role in defence. Around 400 years ago, the involvement of these marksmen’s guards in secular and (above all) religious celebrations developed into a tradition all over the territory held by Salzburg. This gave rise to a tradition of noisemaking that, over the course of time, became a fixed element in traditional Church celebrations, ceremonies held in honour of local dignitaries, and even personal festivities. From Corpus Christi processions to weddings, funerals, receptions for politicians, and their own members’ birthday celebrations, the occasions at which Salzburg’s ceremonial marksmen’s guilds appear are myriad.
Today’s younger generation is showing great interest in continuing Salzburg’s tradition of ceremonial marksmen’s guards. And in many cases, it is not just the knowledge and skills but also the employed firearms themselves that are passed on from father to son, for which reason some of the hand cannons used today are already over 200 years old.
Contact
Downloads
- Application form (in German only) 119 KB (pdf)
- Expertise Zaisberger (in German only) 282 KB (pdf)
- Expertise Paarhammer (in German only) 369 KB (pdf)
Links
Gallery
© Landesverband der Salzburger Festschützen
Tags
ID: 233
