Dülkener Schöppenmarkt
Encyclopedia
The Dülkener Schöppenmarkt (i. e. „Shovel Fair“) in Dülken
is one of the largest and oldest country-fairs or Krammärkte in Western Germany
.
following carnival
from 8.00 in the morning until 8.00 in the evening in the center of the once independent City of Dülken – today forming part of the city of Viersen
. Depending on the weather conditions it was visited during the last years by an estimated 100.000 to 120.000 visitors from the surrounding Lower Rhine region
, the Ruhr district
and the neighbouring provinces of the Netherlands
.
) in the regional dialect
. Today the retailers come from the whole of Germany, and some even from Belgium
and Holland
, and offer a wide variety of goods alongside 4 kilometres of street front, for instance kitchen tools, spices, fan-articles, textiles, garden gnomes, horse meat
, windscreen wipers, pottery, fruit or smoked fish. In a special area fairground barkers compete with ringing voices to sell their goods. All this complemented by drink stalls and snack-booths, who offer the traditional „fish-diet“ of Ash-Wednesday, the first day of Lent
in the Christian tradition. The number of retailers who apply for participation is much higher, than the about 410 lots available. Due to the many visitors part of the Dülken city has to be closed down for car traffic during the day.
Dülken
Dülken is a town located in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. It has a population of about 20,000. It is part of the municipality of Viersen. It received its town charter in 1364 thus being the oldest part of the municipality of Viersen. It lies in the administrative region of Düsseldorf...
is one of the largest and oldest country-fairs or Krammärkte in Western Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Date, Place, numbers of visitors
The Schöppenmarkt takes place on Ash WednesdayAsh Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
following carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
from 8.00 in the morning until 8.00 in the evening in the center of the once independent City of Dülken – today forming part of the city of Viersen
Viersen
Viersen is the capital of the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Viersen is situated approximately 8 km north-west of Mönchengladbach, 15 km south-west of Krefeld and 20 km east of Venlo ....
. Depending on the weather conditions it was visited during the last years by an estimated 100.000 to 120.000 visitors from the surrounding Lower Rhine region
Lower Rhine region (Germany)
The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany between approximately Neuss and Düsseldorf in the South and the Dutch border around Emmerich in the North...
, the Ruhr district
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
and the neighbouring provinces of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
History, size and present product range
This all-day fair, has been a meeting place for travelling retailers, since Ash Wednesday in 1847. It bears the name “Schöppenmarkt” i.e. Shovel Fair, because in olden times the farmers, workmen and housewives from the surrounding area came into town to the market to buy new tools and equipment normally not available in town, among others „Schöppen“, that is the expression for “Schaufel” (shovelShovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
) in the regional dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
. Today the retailers come from the whole of Germany, and some even from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Holland
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and offer a wide variety of goods alongside 4 kilometres of street front, for instance kitchen tools, spices, fan-articles, textiles, garden gnomes, horse meat
Horse meat
Horse meat is the culinary name for meat cut from a horse. It is a major meat in only a few countries, notably in Central Asia, but it forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many others, from Europe to South America to Asia. The top eight countries consume about 4.7 million horses...
, windscreen wipers, pottery, fruit or smoked fish. In a special area fairground barkers compete with ringing voices to sell their goods. All this complemented by drink stalls and snack-booths, who offer the traditional „fish-diet“ of Ash-Wednesday, the first day of Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
in the Christian tradition. The number of retailers who apply for participation is much higher, than the about 410 lots available. Due to the many visitors part of the Dülken city has to be closed down for car traffic during the day.
Secondary literature
- Helena Siemes, Gerd Philips: Durch das Jahr. Feste und Bräuche am Niederrhein. Mercator: Duisburg, 2005. ISBN 3-87463-371-3.
- Der Propaganda-Markt. Sehen, hören, kaufen. In: „Daheim und unterwegs“. WDRWestdeutscher RundfunkWestdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
Television program of 9 February 2005. - Newspaper articles in the Rheinische PostRheinische PostThe Rheinische Post is a major German regional daily newspaper, published since 1946 by the Rheinische Post Verlagsgesellschaft mbH company....
and Westdeutsche Zeitung from 1998–2007.