Christkindl Fest

Iglauer Park in Városlőd is pleased to invite families and other interested parties to a special local tradition that will come to life once again on the weekend of 15-18 December 2023. All 12 buildings of the park will offer a glimpse into the area's famous Christmas folklore.

The "Christkindl Spiel" is traditional Christmastime carolling in the German villages of the Bakony and the Balaton Uplands, listed in the UNESCO National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2021. The Christkindl Spiel tradition started in the German settlements of the Bakony and the Balaton Uplands at the time of Reformation in the 18th century. On 24 December, 8 to 15-year-old girls dressed in costumes and fancy headdresses roam the village streets from morning till midnight. They knock on the door of every house to perform a scene and announce the good news: the baby Jesus is born. The tinkling-jingling of bells accompanies their German-language verse-and-song show. The groups perform various local version of poems, songs and other texts as they have been preserved in the village over the centuries.

In addition to song and verse, a family elfin workshop, a Christmas market and handicraft sales, local round tables (Stammtisch), presentations of the Christmas folk traditions of the Bakony and the Balaton Uplands, and other folk customs associated with the Advent cycle will be shown to the visitors. There will be a Christkindl exhibition, the Heimatklang Choir will perform the old songs of the German-speaking community and the Wirtshaustheater (Public House Theatre) will serve a unique, scripted tasting of local dishes complemented by traditional toasts.