Beautiful Perchten from Ebensee

Beautiful Perchten in Ebensee

In Ebensee at the Traunsee in Upper Austria, the evening of January 5th is really high. When dawn in Salzkammergut pulling up, more and more people are coming to the city. They gather in the cafes and inns of the city, meet with friends, stroll through the town, and there is an almost palpable tension in the air. There is talk of this at the restaurant tables. On the street you notice that something is starting to happen. People are waiting for an event that takes place every year on the last Raunacht, the night before Heilig-Drei-König in Ebensee: the run of the Glöckler, the Schön Perchten of Ebensee in Upper Austria.

Schönperchten follow ancient customs. They differ from the Schiachperchten, the ugly Perchten. The custom of the Perchtenllauf goes back to legends and myths in the Salzburg region. There are various Perchten in the Salzburg region. They differ in their costumes as well as in their headdress. While the Perchten in Ebensee walk through the village with their caps, there are others who perform dances.

The Glöcklerlauf in Ebensee

The rough nights are the nights between Christmas and January 6th, when the evil spirits wreak havoc in the mountain valleys of the Salzkammergut to drive. Most of them move as "the wild hunt" or as Krampus“Dressed in shaggy furs and with terrifying masks through the villages and spreading fear and horror. The Glöckler is different: they are so-called Schön-Perchten, dressed in white and with spectacular caps on the head, each of which has a different shape and which are beautiful to look at. No one is the same. The inside of the caps is illuminated - formerly with candles, today usually with light bulbs. This is safer on the one hand, because the danger of fire is banned, but lacks the magic of the flickering lights of the candles.

The beautiful Perchten of Ebensee

The first Glöckler runs were held in Ebensee around 1850. They probably represent a mixture of different spring customs. Originally the Schön Perchten from Ebensee moved from house to house until the bell-goers were ousted by today's bell-ringers. These are members of different passports or groups. They make their magnificent caps from wood, transparent paper and construction paper themselves. The caps consist of a wooden frame that forms the basic structure. All caps are decorated with motifs. Some proudly show the owner - perhaps a guesthouse, an inn or a hotel -, others tell stories or fairy tales, and still others present traditional craft trades from the region.

There are quite a few such passes from Ebensee and the surrounding villages. There are even children and women passes. Most impressive, however, are the huge caps of the established men who can carry the large specimens over a long period of time, because it is quite exhausting to carry these caps through the place and to make his rounds. Some of these headgear weigh 20 kg or more. Not an easy task, the Glöckler go in any weather. And when it rains or the wind blows, it gets difficult.

How does a Glöcklerlauf the beautiful Perchten of Ebensee?

Such a Glöcklerlauf is not a parade in the true sense. Instead, the individual groups come from all directions to the city center of Ebensee. Particularly impressive are those who carry their illuminated caps down the dark mountain. They are watched attentively by the spectators on the main street in the village. Like a string of lights they wind down the serpentines until they reach the town center.

In the meantime, all the lights are being extinguished - no street lights are shining any more, no lights are coming out of the apartments. From there, the spectators follow the bustle of the beautiful Perchten from Ebensee as tense as we on the street. From afar you can hear the Glöckler. Have you hung the heavy bells or clappers on your hips, which carry their cows in the pastures in summer? And so they spread a hell of a noise in the rhythm of their footsteps, which makes the whole experience even more impressive. For an hour, the beautiful Perchten of Ebensee wind through the village. They always follow their leader who carries no cap as the only passport member. He gives his group members directional instructions.

As a visitor, you should have some small change at hand, as the “collectors” collect small donations from the spectators. This money is used to make new masks. They walk through the rows of spectators with bags and ask for a small fee.

 With these tips, your visit to the Schön Perchten in Ebensee will be a great experience

After an hour, the last beautiful Perchten of Ebensee disappear just as they came - with great noise. Then the onslaught of spectators begins on the inns and restaurants of the city. Anyone who has not reserved a table for that has been unlucky. Therefore, we recommend that you order a table in one of the city's restaurants right when you reserve the hotel. Or does it like us: we had a late lunch, but waived dinner. In addition, we could eat in peace, without spoiling this great experience with long waits for food. However, we observed hotel guests who did not get a table for dinner anymore, because the entire restaurant was fully booked.

For overnight stay we recommend the Gasthof zur Post directly on the main road, a country hotel (three stars) in the center. The Glöckler run directly in front of the hotel on the main street. That's why you have only a few steps to go to see them. Good when crowds move through the place. However, if the afternoon meal is not enough, you can get a warm liver sausage at the inn.

Tips on travel organization

The next Glöcklerlauf the beautiful Perchten of Ebensee takes place on 5. January 2023 held by 18.00 - 19.00 clock.

Landhotel Post
Hauptstraße 19
4802 Ebensee
Tel. +43 (6133) 5208
Information, availability check and online booking*

More hotels in Ebensee and surroundings *

Another tip: You can admire the goblin caps all year round in the Heimatmuseum of Ebensee. This is the big yellow house behind the church. Worth a visit are also the cribs in the place, on the Kripperlroas to visit.

Do you also know:

• Customs in Austria in winter
• Christmas customs around the world can be found at We2ontour.de.
• An interesting blog post on the topic Customs and tradition There's from Altmühltaltipps.
• Blueprint from the Koó blueprint in Burgenland
• Which rain jacket is the best?
• Comfortable winter boots
• Packing list winter vacation
• Gift ideas for travelers

Other Slow Travel Tips here.

Source Schön Perchten von Ebensee: Research on site with the support of Upper Austria Tourism. However, our opinion remains our own.

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Video: © Copyright Petar Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline