Carnival in Bern
Encyclopedia
The carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
in Bern, Switzerland is an annual pre-Lenten festival in the Swabian-Alemannic tradition.
Its origins can be traced back to the 15th Century, and in 1513 the carnival led to a peasant revolt. The Bernese carnivals were held more or less regularly in medieval times, with strong anti-Papa
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
l rhetoric occurring between 1523 and 1525. After the Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
religious themes in carnivals were prohibited and did not return until the local reformation of 1528 returned freedom of speech and expression to the Protestants.
Authorities also tried to ban carnivals in later centuries. The carnival as it is known today was introduced in 1982, and is unique because it incorporates the city's history by beginning the carnival with the symbolic freeing of the bear. The carnival in Bern in the country's third largest such celebration.
Carnival beginnings
Carnival was established in Bern during the medievalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
period. In Bern, the term for carnival is either Fasnacht or Fastnacht which means on the eve of fasting. Before the beginning of Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
, or the 40 day fasting period, feasts and folk-festivals were commonly held. During the 15th, century Bern began to grow in importance, and in the 1420s during a carnval the cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
for the new Rathaus was laid. The importance of the city became noticeable as visitors flocked to the city during the carnival celebrations. From the mid- to the end of the 15th century Bern saw visitors to the yearly carnival arrive from surrounding cities and Cantons
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
such as Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
and as far away as from Cantons such as Schwyz
Schwyz
The town of is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.The Federal Charter of 1291 or Bundesbrief, the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the Bundesbriefmuseum.-History of the toponym:...
.
Carnival during the Reformation
During the 16th century, the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
caused a rift between the Protestant and Catholic citizenry of Bern, and according to scholars the city considered keeping to the Catholic Church as late as 1526; however, during this period playwrights used the opportunity to present an anti-Catholic message during the carnival (or shrovetide) Lenten celebebrations. Some Reformation era carnival plays depicted contrasts between Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s and Protestants, while others contrasted Jews and gentiles, such as in Goliath by Hans von Rüte. Niklaus Manuel
Niklaus Manuel
Niklaus Manuel , was a Swiss dramaturg, painter, engraver and statesman.-Biography:He was a gifted artist who made highly realistic etchings and became known locally for his satirical plays...
was the first writer to present ideas for reform and to belittle the Papacy in his plays. In 1522 he wrote two farces about the Pope, in which he showed the difference between the Pope and his priests, and Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Real life events, in particular the Battle of Novara (1513)
Battle of Novara (1513)
The Battle of Novara was a battle of the War of the League of Cambrai fought on June 6, 1513, near Novara, in Northern Italy.The French had been victorious at Ravenna the previous year. Nevertheless, the French under King Louis XII were driven out of the city of Milan the following month by the...
, created the backdrop for Manuel's writings. He wrote about Cardinal Anselm von Hochmuth (Haughtiness): "Mightily I have enjoyed it,/For Christian blood to me is dear,/And that's why a red hat I wear." In another Manuel play the Pope dismisses the plight of a Knight of Rhodes assisting in the war against the Turks
Siege of Rhodes (1522)
The Siege of Rhodes of 1522 was the second and ultimately successful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to expel the Knights of Rhodes from their island stronghold and thereby secure Ottoman control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The first siege, in 1480, had been unsuccessful.-Setting:The Knights of St...
, and declares: "No bacon to the turnips for that war, it is better to make a war with Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s."
Beginning in the mid-1520s there appear to have been incidents of sporadic violence in Bern during carnival which may have shown the tension of the Reformation period. Records show that the carnival was discontinued during the mid-to-latter half of the decade.
In the 1530s the carnival continued, but the entertainment had a different emphasis than in the earlier decade. Records show that plays with a serious religious subject were put on as early as the 1530s in Bern, with Hans von Rüte's Abgötterie (1531) possibly being the first. Hans von Rüte wrote plays about Biblical themes for the Bern carnival. In Gideon (1540) the Jews are depicted as losing to their enemies for seven devastating years because they adopted idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
and abandoned God. Gideon
Gideon
Gideon was an Israelite judge who appears in the Book of JudgesGideon may also refer to:- Religion :* Gideon , a figure in the Book of Mormon* Gideons International, distributor of copies of the Bible- Media :...
eventually defeats all the enemies of the Israelites, a recurring historical theme, but first he has to destroy the altar of Ba'al. Although the story, as told in von Rüte's play, was taken from the Book of Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
and was about Jews, Rüte (as before him Manuel) meant to attack the idolatry of Catholic clerics. Von Rüte's Gideon defeats Zwinglian
Huldrych Zwingli
Ulrich Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system, he attended the University of Vienna and the University of Basel, a scholarly centre of humanism...
authority by destroying the Ba'al altar. However, in contrast to the plays of the earlier decade, von Rüte's plays show a shift away from "protestant polemics" as he eventually uses the Bernese Bear as an allegorical figure.
The tradition of Reformation era carnival theater (Fasnachtspiele) came to an end in the mid-1530s and Bernese record show that the genre came to an end by the late 1530s.
The carnival today
Having been banned during the 16th century, Bern had no carnival for a long time. Instead, residents traveled to Basel or the Lucerne to enjoy carnival. In the 1970s the idea of bringing carnival back to Bern began to grown, and was first initiated with a children's carnival. In 1982 the era of the modern carnival began. Now, the Bernese Fasnacht is the third largest carnival in Switzerland although the carnivals in BaselCarnival of Basel
The Carnival of Basel is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed as one of the top fifty local festivities in Europe.- Overview :...
and Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
have a longer or "more extravagant tradition". Carnival in Bern runs for three days in February.
Freeing the bear
According to a popular story, in 1917 Lenin, prior to the Revolution, passed by the bearsBärengraben
The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a well-known tourist attraction, an enclosure housing bears at the eastern edge of the Old City of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke and the Aare River. The bear is a symbol of Bern, both the city and canton, and is featured in Bern's coat of arms.The first records of...
in Bern, fed them carrots, and said: "The bears must be released." The carnival begins with a symbolic liberation of the bear (the participants, who are dressed as bears, wait to be liberated in the old town). Of course, the bear must first be captured. The capture takes place at 11:11 on November 11 (11/11) of the previous year. The bear spends exactly 111 days in Prison Tower for its winter sleep, before being awakened by "Ychüblete" (drumming) and released. In the 1980s, the original organizers of the modern carnival decided to use local history and to incorporate the famous bears of Bern into the modern carnival: thus they conceived of the idea of freeing the bears, thereby adding a modern idea based on the traditions of the city.