Miner's parade, tattoo and choir meeting: This weekend Olbernhau is all about the miners' and smelters' associations. After the corona restrictions of the past few years, the miners' day as a professional meeting has a very special meaning for them.
Olbernhau (dpa/sn) - After a two-year Corona break, Saxony's miners' associations are firmly committed to the resumption of the traditional mountain parades in Advent. Another cancellation would be a disaster, said the chairman of the national association of miners, smelters and miners' associations, Ray Laetzsch. "We are preparing. As of today, we are conducting the mountain parades in the Ore Mountains." Agreements have been signed with a number of cities. Among the biggest are the moves in Annaberg-Buchholz and Chemnitz. In the past two years, they had fallen victim to the corona pandemic, just like the Christmas markets. The mountain parades are part of the intangible cultural heritage.
First of all, Olbernhau will be the Mecca of traditional clubs this weekend. The city is the organizer of the sixth Bergmannstag, which is held every five years - most recently in Ehrenfriedersdorf. The highlights are a mining tattoo on Saturday evening followed by fireworks and the mining parade with 1700 participants on Sunday. The program also includes a mountain service, a meeting of miners' choirs, activities such as show forging and a reception. The city expects up to 30,000 visitors.
Especially after the past pandemic years, this meeting is of great importance for the clubs, said Lätzsch. Many guests from other federal states are also expected. Such a miner's tattoo only exists on special occasions, the head of the association emphasized. It runs according to a fixed ritual with miners' lights, a serenade, prayer and the national anthem at the end. Lätzsch promises "goose bumps" to participants and visitors.
The Miners' Day also draws an arc to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ore Mountains/Krušnohoří mining region. With the Saigerhütte, Olbernhau has an important historical testimony of the metallurgical industry in the 16th century. There, demonstrations are shown under the title "Saigern as 400 years ago".
