Aperschnalzen ( Austro-Bavarian ''Apaschnoizn'') is an old tradition of competitive

whipcracking Whipcracking is the act of producing a cracking sound through the use of a whip. Used during livestock driving and horse riding, it has also become an art. A rhythmic whipcracking belongs to the traditional culture among various Germanic peoples ...

revived in the first half of the 20th century in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. The word "aper" means "area free of snow" in the Bavarian language. The Aperschnalzen involves the rhythmic snapping and cracking of a whip up to 4 m in length (called "Goassl" in Austro-Bavarian) and takes place at the end of January and early February. It is performed in small groups ("Passen" in Bavarian) of 7, 9 or 11 members each.Aperschnalzen (austria-lexikon.at)
/ref> It has been thought that this tradition had a pagan meaning of "driving the winter away" by whipcracking. File:Whipcracking Aperschnalzen.jpg, The whip File:Whipcracking Aperschnalzen Detail.jpg, Different whip models File:Whipcracking Aperschnalzen the Cracker.jpg, The cracker

References

* Andrea Euler-Rolle: ''Zwischen Aperschnalzen und Zwetschkenkrampus. Oberösterreichische Bräuche im Jahreskreis''. Landesverlag, 1993. {{ISBN, 978-3-85214-591-4
Why Whips Crack

External links

Aperschnalzen

''Burschen beim Aperschnalzen'' (Video)

Culture of Altbayern Whip arts