Carnival Season in Germany is coming to an end this week. This past weekend celebrations and carnival parades were held in almost every town in the Black Forest. Like thousands of other people we visited the ‘Schuttige Umzug‘ in the Black Forest town of Elzach which is considered one of the highlights of the Swabian-Alemanic carnival.
In the evening hundreds of scary-looking ‘Schuttige‘ walk through town carrying torches and a curious balloon-like device. It is traditional that the Schuttige hit the spectators with this balloon-like thing, which is made from leather, making a loud banging sound while doing no harm.
The device is actually a pig bladder filled with air. The Schuttige meet at the townsquare and dance around a bonfire, celebrating throughout the night. For more picture on the Parade in Elzach visit our photo gallery.
