Back from Schruns in Austria, i would like to introduce you to one of the tradition taking place in the Montafon valley: burning down the Funken. This event takes place at the end of the Carnival week.
In the past there used to be several Funken put up and burned down on nearly every hamlet. Today the Funken is skillfully build by the Funken guild of Vandans. Their Funken maybe isn’t the biggest one, but it’s the only original Montafon Funken. It’s made of one-metre long pieces of wood, no nails are used and it’s build crosswise around a fir tree which is 15 to 20-metres long.
On top of the tree there is a Funken witch. It’s filled with gunpowder and it’s the highlight of the festival when it explodes with a big bang. Burning down the Funken on the one hand leads to the thaw and on the other hand, according to old traditions, burning down the witch drives out the evil. In Vandans the Funken is already build on the previous day (on Saturday) above the church and it’s closely guarded all night long so nobody is able to burn it down just for fun before the actual event.
On Saturday from 4.30 p. m. the Funkenblättle (Funken newspaper), issued by the Funken guild, is sold from door to door. In the newspaper last year’s village events are commented on in a funny way.
On Sunday at 7 p. m. the Funken is burned down during a ceremony accpomanied by the music of the Vandans Harmoniemusik and ironic carnival speeches of the Funken chancellor. Children with torches are also part of this nice traditional event.
