Grasausläuten

The wake-up call of the bells: their ear piercing noise goes deep into the earth. There the grass is woken up after a meagre winter. It has to grow lush, that's the goal. They take care of it every year: the Grasausläuter—grass ringers—in Schwaz.

Description

During this bell procession, we metaphorically get rid of Old Man Winter and lure out the grass from
the ground,” explains Lieutenant Reinhard Hechenblaickner. On this special day, he doesn’t give any commands for standing at attention – on the contrary. It is all about movement! Reinhard and his comrades wander through the streets carrying loud bells and waking up not only the village’s sleepy- heads but the surrounding ground. One cowbell alone can produce a pretty loud noise, so imagine 40 of them plus 20 smaller ones - which produce a brighter sound – being swung around incessantly. No one really knows anymore how old this tradition is. However, the procession is extremly impressive.

The captain or lieutenant walks first wearing a special frame rucksack filled with bread, cheese and speck. He is followed by mostly young boys carrying the bells. The “custodians” accompany the procession to “protect” it and to collect money. They all walk for about 18 Kilometres until they finally reach their last station - the Schaller inn. It’s like a traditional version of a marathon. Usually, the procession ends at around 4:30 pm. After that, they count the money they have collected and eat the bread, cheese and speck. Most important of all though – the mission has been accomplished: the grass has started to grow, the spring is awake.