Merriment with Berchtesgaden Festivals

Get ready for some fun in the alps with the annual Berchtesgaden festivals. Berchtesgaden is a small municipality famous for the German Bavarian Alps and the adventure sports one can do there. It is is a relatively quiet town with few tourist destinations and no raving crowd to speak of, unless you happen to be there during the months of merriment.

Krampus Festival

This Festival seems to have originated from another Austrian town with the same festival name. As in Schladming, Austria, the festival in Berchtesgaden, Germany, has a similar concept. Every year, before Christmas Day, a parade is held in town with the men dressing up as demons behind St. Nicholas. The concept is that the demons, carrying whips, drive out all the children’s and adult’s sins so they are worthy of the blessing of St. Nicholas come Christmas. This is a strange practice, but it has been around for many years. Many adults come every year just to let their children be whipped by these Krampus demons. And at the same time, most locals spend months thinking of a costume and masks.

Almabtrieb Festival

Almatrieb literally means "drive from the mountain pasture." Every year starting in the middle of September and continuing to the end of October, the farmers take their herd of cows from the mountains and parade them down the streets complete with costumes, decorations and even colorful paints. Music and dancing accompanies these herds down to their resting place for autumn. This once quiet celebration has now been joined by many tourists around the world.