written by Lyndon LeUnes
Pützchens Markt is held every year on the second weekend of September.
It is hard to believe that an event thats story dates back to 1367 A.D. would still be celebrated by around 1 million people annually. This is definitely still the case here in the Bonn-Beuel-Pützchen area of Germany, which is the location of the famous Pützchens Markt.
Pützchens Markt was first celebrated by Pilgrims after the death of the abbess Adelaide. She was the abbess of the neighboring monastery Vilich. Her prayers are believed to have brought and end to a time of a scarceness of water. The story says that after a prayer session the abbess thrusted her crosier into the ground and water began to spray out. A well was put at the spot that provided water and healing powers for the town people, as well as the Pilgrims. Today, many people still believe that the water has a healing power, and on (http://www.puetzchens-markt-webcam.de/) this statement was written: “Scientific investigations resulted in that aluminous water of the "Puetzchen" is able to relieve eye-diseases.” Obviously, the miracle of the Pützchen is one to be celebrated, and that is why the town people in the 14th century started the Pützchens Markt. It first started out as sellers selling their merchandise out of tents set up in the middle of town. As the years went on, the event turned into more of a festival and expanded to many traders, circus performers, and entertainers that brought in many people to experience this event.
The 2010 Pützchens Markt is obviously a lot different looking than the way Putzchens Markt looked when it first was created. This year the fairground had around 4.5 kilometers of walkway, and took up a space of around 80,000 square meters. There were around 550 businesses in attendance with their own tents. Businesses included all kinds of German food stores,(bakeries, sweets, butchers, restaurants) Breweries, (Bönnsch, Kölsch, Paulaner, etc) and many other miscellaneous specialty stores. One of the main differences the fair has nowadays that it didnt have when it started, are the rides. There were more than 30 rides and entertainment shows. All of them were very impressive, but two seemed to stick out a little more than others. First, the Doppellooping "Teststrecke" was most likely a main attraction. It is the largest mobile double looping roller coaster in Europe. This was the debut for this ride and many people rode it for the cheap price of €4.50. The other ride that seemed to stand out a little more than others was the Europa Ferris Wheel. It is the tallest in the world of its kind, and is always a main attraction at Pützchens Markt.
People from all over come to experience this great festival in the Rhineland. It was definitely a great way to experience the German culture as an American. I feel lucky that myself, and the students that are currently studying at the AIB got to experience this spectacular event.
