Trumpet sounds at Landhausplatz: New governor Mattle is full of energy
At yesterday’s Austrian tattoo at Landhausplatz in Innsbruck, the former LH Platter thanked the Tyroleans.
INNSBRUCK. When a trumpet sounds from the Landhaus in Innsbruck, delegations from the Austrian Armed Forces, the Tyrolean riflemen and the Tyrolean music bands march on the Landhaus balcony square and the Austrian national anthem is sung, it’s that time again: the Great Austrian Tattoo has begun. Traditionally on the eve of the national holiday, the event took place today, Tuesday evening. In addition to the Tyrolean Military Band and the Zirl Music Association, honorary processions from the Mountain Reconnaissance Company/Staff Battalion 6, the Zirl Rifle Company, delegations from the Tyrolean traditional associations and the officers’ course of the Association of Tyrolean Rifle Companies competed at the Great Austrian Tattoo. After 14 years in office, the provincial governor, now retired, Günther Platter addressed the population one last time. “I would like to start by thanking all Tyroleans for the encounters, touching moments, conversations and discussions over the past few years. It was a good time for Tyrol.”
The provincial governor Anton Mattle, who was newly elected by the state parliament today, gave his first speech on the occasion of the Great Austrian Tattoo: “Tomorrow we will celebrate the national holiday. A day that reminds us that neither peace nor democracy can be taken for granted. Freedom of opinion and the media, the existence of opposition and the separation of powers as the basis of western democracies are our guarantee for freedom and pluralism. Tyrol will contribute with all its possibilities in Austria, in the European region of Tyrol and in the European Union, but also everywhere where federal and regional conditions and design are concerned, to hear the voice.”
Event with a long tradition
The tattoo tradition goes back almost 400 years and dates back to the Thirty Years’ War in the first half of the 17th century. In the early field camps, the night’s rest was indicated by a drum sign – the hammering of a spigot into a tap, the so-called “Zapfenstreich”. The drum signal was later replaced by a horn signal. Over the centuries, the ringing in of the night’s rest became a separate ceremonial, during which various desired pieces of music were played. The Austrian Armed Forces have also resumed this tradition and carry out a so-called Great Tattoo at actual celebrations. This includes traditional melodies and historical Austrian military signals, which have been combined into a large, coherent soundscape.
Big Austrian Tattoo at Landhausplatz