Hundreds of fools started the high season of carnival with fire, dance and music in Aulendorf in Upper Swabia. During the traditional mask incantation on Wednesday evening, the masks of the fools were freed from their spell, which had been in effect since last Shrove Tuesday. After the mask incantation, the path of the fools and visitors led to the castle, which houses the town hall, in order to take over the regiment of the community there in time for the start of the high phase of the Swabian-Alemannic carnival. The freedom of fools applies in Aulendorf until Ash Wednesday.
In many other carnival strongholds in the country, the hot phase only begins on Thursday, the “Schmotzigen Dunschtig”. The day is considered one of the highlights of the Swabian-Alemannic carnival in the southwest. Incidentally, the expression has nothing to do with dirt: it comes from the Alemannic word for fat or lard (“Schmotz”).
Fools’ guild in Aulendorf for mask summoning
