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HISTORY

Walpurgisnacht: How the Swiss celebrate the night of witches

During the night on April 30th into May 1st everything revolves around witches, bonfires, and Celtic folk music. The Local explains what the night is all about, how it’s celebrated and what you can (and cannot) do to ring in spring in Switzerland.

Expect lots of fires on Walpurgisnacht.
Expect lots of fires on Walpurgisnacht. Photo: Hans from Pixabay

Walpurgisnacht, also known as the ‘night of the witches’, is a pagan festival celebrated every year on the night of April 30th and usually lasts past midnight into May 1st. Traditionally, large fires are lit on Walpurgisnacht meant to bring fertility and health to man and nature, while driving away evil.

Those brave enough to jump over the embers of the fire are granted one wish. If a couple jumps hand-in-hand, it is said that they stay together for life. The blazing fire is also said to protect the revellers’ health and ward off diseases.

READ ALSO: Which Swiss cantons have a public holiday on May 1st?

What’s in a name?

The name Walpurgsinacht is derived from a nun named Walpurga (710-779), who was considered the patron saint against evil spirits and whose memorial day was celebrated on May 1st in the Medieval period. According to legend, on the night of April 30th, witches would gather on the Blocksberg, also known as Brocken, in Northern Germany to marry none other than the devil and drive out winter.

German novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe made the term Walpurgisnacht popular throughout Europe, not only though his tragic play Faust, but also his ballad Die erste Walpurgisnacht.

How do the Swiss celebrate Walpurgisnacht?

Hexenmuseum

It is estimated that Switzerland has some 1,000 practising witches today and you can join a number of them by snagging a ticket to the Walpurgisnacht celebrations held by the Hexenmuseum – the museum of witches – in Gränichen – if you’re quick enough. Understandably, the event sells out fast so you may want to get ahead for the coming year.

A witch holds a candle

Get ready for witch night. Photo by Ksenia Yakovleva on Unsplash

The festivities held at the museum include a spectacular fire show and a traditional May (tree) dance. Visitors also get to try the Waldmeister Bowle, an alcoholic punch made with sweet woodruff and traditionally sipped to celebrate fertility and the spirits of the forest. The drink, which was hailed an aphrodisiac in the Middle Ages, goes especially well with the so-called ‘magic’ Bärlauchzopf (garlic bread).

Forest celebrations

Don’t despair if you’re unlucky at the Hexenmuseum ticket front. In fact, most people in Switzerland prefer to hold their own Walpurgisnacht celebrations among (witchy) friends in the dark corners of local forests by lighting a cosy fire, singing, and dancing. Many Swiss families who celebrate alongside kids like to venture deep into the forest in a witchy hunt for wood to craft makeshift broom sticks with.

You can also up the ante by renting a small hut (Hexenhaus) where you’re free to practice magic spells to your heart’s content and brew up magic potions to share with fellow sorcerers and sorceresses.

But beware….

If you feel like letting out your inner witch to ring in spring, remember that Switzerland has strict rules in place when it comes to lighting fires and enjoying barbecues in its forests – for witches and muggles alike.

READ ALSO:: 8 rules nature lovers should follow in the Swiss countryside

A bonfire

There may be some (safe) fires on Walpurgisnacht in Switzerland. Photo by roya ann miller on Unsplash

Hexensuppe

Speaking of witchy foods, a fun recipe to drum up with friends and family is the Hexensuppe (witch soup) made with pumpkins, apples, and carrots. You can easily access varied recipes online or let your magic do its thing and whip up a spontaneous concoction with leftover vegetables.

Now you’ve brewed up the night’s meal, just what is there to drink? The answer is simple: herbal tea. After all, real witches know a thing or two about herbs. Luckily, making herbal tea doesn’t require witchcraft, it’s actually quite simple. All you need is a few dried flowers petals, herbs, and water and you’re good to go.

Alpaufzug

But Walpurgisnacht isn’t just reserved for would-be witches. Every year at the Alpaufzug when the cows march up to the alps for the grazing season, the animals are adorned with flower wreaths and made to walk past two bonfires to be ‘cleansed of evil’.

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CULTURE

Swiss museum to remove five paintings linked to Nazi looting

The Kunsthaus Zurich, one of Switzerland's most prestigious art museums, has announced it will remove five paintings after a review of their provenance under new guidelines for dealing with artworks looted by the Nazis.

Swiss museum to remove five paintings linked to Nazi looting

A sixth painting also came in for additional scrutiny, the foundation responsible for the Emil Buhrle Collection said, though it did not believe the new guidelines applied to the work.

The foundation’s namesake was a German-born arms dealer who made his fortune during World War II, and there have long been suspicions about the Nazi-era origins of one of Europe’s most prestigious private art collections.

“The Kunsthaus Zurich has been informed by the Foundation E.G. Buhrle Collection that the Foundation is seeking solutions with the legal successors of former owners for six works in the collection,” the museum said in a Friday statement.

“The Kunsthaus welcomes this approach, but in the interests of visitors very much regrets that five of the paintings will be removed from the Kunsthaus premises” by the foundation on Thursday, it added.

The paintings in question are by Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.

In a statement of its own, the foundation explained it had “subjected its artworks to a further assessment” of their provenance based on new best practices from the US State Department for dealing with Nazi-looted art.

For the five works being removed from the museum, “the Foundation will seek just and fair solutions with the descendants or other legal successors of the former owners.”

The foundation determined that “based on established facts”, a sixth painting by Edouard Manet “does not fall under the scope of the ‘Best Practices'”, though the case still merited “particular attention”.

“Due to the overall historical circumstances relating to the sale, the Foundation is prepared to offer a financial contribution to the estate of Max Silberberg in respect to the tragic destiny of the former owner,” it said.

The Kunsthaus has previously run into trouble showing the Buhrle collection, with critics last year saying its attempt to put the works in context did not focus enough on the fate of the art’s former Jewish owners.

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