Pongau: Schön- and Schiachperchten are preparing
Culture
The Perchten customs have a long tradition, especially in the Innergebirge. After a two-year break, the big Pongau Perchten Run will take place again on January 6th in Altenmarkt (Pongau). Until then, the 250 Schön- und Schiachperchten and their companions have to be whipped into shape.
Year after year, the Perchten are usually seen between Christmas and January 6th. But since 2019 the Schön- and Schiachperchten of Altenmarkt have been asleep. Due to the pandemic, they were last seen in 2019 at the traditional Pongau Perchten Run in the community.
Drive out darkness, winter and bring light, life
The Schiachperchten go ahead and banish darkness and winter. The beauties bring back the light and the life. During the year the figures rest in the Dechantshof threshing floor in the Altenmarkt local history museum. When storing, it is particularly important to ensure that no pest infestation is possible: “The fur coats and the masks could be infested by pests, which is why the grain perchten are not stored in the same room so that it doesn’t become a mouse buffet,” says the custodian of the Altenmarkt Franz Walchhofer local history museum.
280 figures are checked and dressed up
The peaceful existence of the Perchten will soon come to an end. The Perchtenhauptmann and his men pick up the figures for a complete makeover – each of the approximately 280 figures has to be cleaned up again: “All beautiful and bad Perchten are checked to see whether anything has become loose or has broken off. We check the mirrors to make sure they aren’t cloudy, so that they shine when we move through the town,” says Manfred Steger, the Perchten captain from Altenmarkt.
Schönperchten: Caps weigh up to 50 kilos
The Almabtrieb Percht is getting a new sponsor – so it WILL be given special attention this year. The so-called caps of the Schönperchten weigh between 15 and 50 kilos. On the way through the town, the Percht will bow around 60 times and pay tribute to the visitors. The carrying straps have to be in place when the Perchten march through Altenmarkt and wish them “peace, rhyme and good health”.