Bad Duerkheim offers ‘Wurstmarkt’ Sept. 11 to 21

The traditional “Wurstmarkt,” the world’s biggest wine fest, will start Sept. 11, only 35 km east of Kaiserslautern. For the 599th time, Bad Duerkheim along the German Wine Road will host this traditional fest in two parts: from Sept. 11 to 15 and again from Sept. 18 to 21. Organizers expect about 600,000 visitors from all over the world.

An amusement park with about 300 vendors and ride owners will be set up on the fest grounds covering about 485 square feet next to the “Duerkheimer Fass,” the world’s biggest wine barrel. The barrel actually houses a restaurant and if it were used as a barrel, it could hold almost 450 gallons of wine.

The Wurstmarkt, meaning sausage fair, is almost 600 years old. Festivalgoers ate enormous amounts of sausages during the event in the first part of the 19th century, giving the popular sausage market its name.

However, the main attractions of the festival are the 36 small wine tents known as “Schubkaerchler,” or wheelbarrows, because vintners would roll wine barrels on wheelbarrows up to “Monte Sancti Michaeli,” Michelsberg hill, to quench pilgrims’ thirst during the 15th century.

Each year at the end of September on Michael’s day, pilgrims visited the little chapel on top of the hill. On the way up, vendors sold their goods. Eventually church dignitaries no longer accepted this kind of pilgrimage, and market activities were relocated to the bottom of Michelsberg and the sausage fair was born.

In 1910, city officials decided to celebrate the fest earlier in September and no longer on Michael’s day because of better weather. In 1926, the Wurstmarkt got extended by a day, in 1951 by seven days and finally in 1965, the fest was extended by eight days. Since 1985, the fest is nine days long.

Wurstmarkt will begin at 5 p.m. Sept. 11 with a concert in front of the Kurhaus, an official spa building. At 5:30 p.m. there will be a parade with musicians and vintners, and at 6 p.m. officials will lead from the Kurhaus to the festival grounds where the Wurstmarkt officially opens.

Rides will include merry-go-rounds, auto scooters, a giant Ferris wheel, a rollercoaster and fast rides, such as Breakdance, Happy Sailor, The King and Wild Mouse. “Schloss Dracula,” or Dracula’s castle, will provide a horror-like atmosphere and a special five-lane slide will entertain families. There will also be food and candy booths, fest tents with live bands and a wine village with wine tents.

The historical wine tents will open at 10 a.m. and the rides will open at noon each day.

The event’s first fireworks display will be at 9 p.m. Sept. 15 and the second one will close out the fest at 9 p.m. Sept. 21.

For more information on the Bad Duerkheim Wurstmarkt, visit www.duerkheimer-wurstmarkt.de or the wine fest’s Facebook page at facebook.com/duerkheimer.wurstmarkt.