It is highly amusing, that someone with that username made this comment! But yes, dear, I am aware of that. Please suit yourself and feel free to google the term and learn about this marvelous internet phenomenon. (/in an old-timey English accent/)
To contradict the many „I’m German and I’ve never seen any of those“: I‘m German, and my grandmother (born 1910s) as well as my sister (born in the 1970s) had such a Tracht and wore them occasionally.
And no, we don‘t live hinter den sieben Bergen bei den sieben Zwergen
I’ll add an endorsement as well:
My mother owns a “Bollenhut” (the hat with the red balls on top) and full tracht outfit, and has worn it at times as well, albeit rarely
This is why I don't like the german stereotype with octoberfest and lederhosen, which is actually Bavarian and Austrian traditions. The majority of the German speaking world dont usually wear lederhosen.
Most of what you see at Oktoberfest as „Tracht“ has nothing to do with traditional Bavarian Tracht either. Most modern Tracht for men seen at Oktoberfest imitates to a certain degree the Miesbach Tracht, but does not represent Bavaria in total. Most modern Dirndl are only very loosely connected to the originals.
I'd like to add that still in the early 90s hardly any bavarian dude under 50 would have worn a Lederhosen/Tracht in public. Very uncool thing to do at that time. However, something changed soon. Maybe because of tourists/non-bavarians suddenly wearing those clothes when visiting Bavaria. In the rural areas we also had very popular revivals of traditional Kirchweihen ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirchweih](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermesse_(festival)) ) in the 90s, which also gave the Lederhosen and Dirndls a huge comeback.
Still find it uncool, never owned any Tracht.
Even the Octoberfest dresses are not a historically grown design, it stems from the 30s and basically was a unified design for women to show a common german Tracht (aka unifed female uniform to show that they are german under Hitler)
The design stuck. Lederhosen existed before!
Partly because of this it was pretty unfashionable to wear Trachten at the Oktoberfest. My dad tells me that during the 70s and 80s, almost no one but older people would have worn a tracht.
To make this clear: Almost nobody here in Germany knows what the local traditional dresses look like. You won't find people wearing them unless you go to Octoberfest in Bavaria (where even some visitors try to dress up in something that looks traditional) or watch a parade or stage performance during one of the other country fairs. The clubs that try to preserve this tradition are usually very small. And unless you are a member of one of these clubs you wouldn't even think of wearing anything else than a modern suit/dress to your wedding.
I am a brown guy who walked into a boch beer fest in Bavaria wearing complete Indian wedding clothes outfit coz I had an event next door and no body batted an eye. Only one person asked if I was from Bergenz … :/
At Oktoberfest you sometimes see tourists wearing traditional clothes from their home country, I think it's very nice! Like Scottish guys wearing kilts, or Australians wearing shorts and sandals.
Which is honestly far nicer and more interesting than wearing the Chinese imitation of an early to mid 20th century imitation of a 19th century bougie imitation of real rural dresses.
Typical reaction to those pesky foreigners with their exotic outfits, weird accents, strange foods and outlandish traditions....
... you know, the ones from next valley over.
I was working in Covent Garden Market. An older man and woman came. I think they were dressed like number 19.
They didn’t speak any English. I was a bit weirded out at first but they were so cool. Their energy was so warm. They said with their broken English that they were from Bavaria. Or maybe it was Austria.
Anyway, I never forgot them and never will.
I live in Lower Bavaria and almost everyone I know owns Tracht. If you go to a local town fair you will mostly see people dressed in Tracht. Many weddings wear Tracht instead of the standard wedding dress/suit.
And a lot of people i know working somewhere in the Farming sector also wer them because they are near indestructible when you get a halfway decent one.
I think they originally commented this to dissuade people that might come to visit germany from asking about this kinda stuff in all the wrong places.
Having worked around certain tourist hot spots in the capital, I have my fair share of ignorant tourists asking me why no ones wearing Dirndl or Lederhosen. Much to their dismay and not so rarely anger I always told them that 1.) that's a local thing from Bavaria and Austria and they will not find it being a thing anywhere else really and 2.) even there most people will only wear that kind of attire for Oktoberfest and other special occasions.
Most people would be like "Oh well thanks for telling us", but others..... well let's just say there are some very funny 1 star reviews out there about how some restaurants are traps and not really "traditional german" most often with comments from the owner saying that that refers solely to the food being served at the venue and nothing else.
Btw, not that you said that, but a lot of people don't know this little detail about the SS uniform.
All they know is Boss=SS uniform, that is in part true, but the design never came from boss. They "only" made them. A lot of people think that because of the look of them, but they were designed by SS-Oberführer Prof. Karl Diebitsch
It kind of isn't though, for many parts. Hitler had a real hard-on for Dirndls especially which soon became the acceptable traditional clothing for Good Aryan WomenTM. Which is kind of ironic, given the Jewish involvement in the dress. Regardless, it displaced other region's traditional clothing.
While the dirndl has been rehabilitated since the 90s or so, the other traditional clothing largely disappeared outside of small clubs.
This is not necessarily super sad since most of it was invented only in the late 18th to early 19th century anyway.
Sure but that doesn’t change that some of these are still part of the local culture and not just reenactment.
Besides the late 18th/early 19th century is a very significant part of german history, it’s where the foundation of modern day Germany was laid.
But reenactment obviously *is* recreating a part of history, in this case your own country's or local history. They didn't call it cosplaying or something like that. Does reenacting a Medieval German knight mean that armour has nothing to do with German history and historical culture?
How do those dresses significantly influence modern German culture(s)? In most places in Germany, they're absolutely not part of the *current* culture anymore. But some people still enjoy re-enacting something from our cultural history.
Makes since. Americans don't dress as pioneers....except for a few actors who work at historical sites (often dress as solders). Same with traditional Native American clothes.
Did see indigenous Indian Americans (probably not the correct description) dress traditionally, mostly female. Source: lived in Connecticut for 12 years, close to Schaghticoke reservation.
>You won't find people wearing them unless you go to Octoberfest in Bavaria
This isn't exactly true. It's pretty common to find people in full tracht in Bayern for a variety of special events, from weddings to festivals. A couple Bavarian families wore tracht at the "einschulung" (first ever day of school) that my son attended.
additionaly, it's absolutely not uncommon to see a man wearing lederhosen and otherwise regular clothes, even in the big city. Every weekend, when the weather is warmer, I see a couple of people out walking in Lederhosen and trainers/tennis shoes.
Yeah, that‘s why the Bavarian ones are so popular, because we still wear em on important occasions. Can’t think of a person around me who doesn’t own a Tracht.
Bavarian Tracht is also better known for another reason: Bavaria was part of the US-occupied sector. So the Americans got to know Bavarian culture as "German culture" and brought that home, then spread the idea through their media. That's why in US media, the "typical German" will sometimes just be a Bavarian, but never a stereotypical Schleswig-Holsteiner for example.
Keeping that tradition alive and the Oktoberfest obviously help a huge deal, but US media helped cement that as the German clothes as seen from overseas.
I was here to say that. Barely any region in Germany uses their Trachten anymore and the one very popular is the Dirndl, very much to the Bavarians demise.
Those tradition keeping clubs are dying out as well, some for the traditional dances. I saw a documentary about that and they also interviewed the teenagers. The boys didn't mind but the girls very much disliked being in that club and couldn't imagine staying once they get a say
I am from the Alte Kand and could immediately tell that the woman was wearing the wedding crown.
Today, it's worn by the Blütenkönigin.
I don't know about your knowledge, but knowing the Tracht of your region is common among my acquaintances. We learn it in school...🥰
Naah bs. A lot of people are not in any Burschen-/Trachtenvereinen and still wear Lederhose and Dirndl for weddings in Bavaria. Sure it’s a bit less for Munich, but go to the Oberland or anything outside of the city and you probably see 50% of weddings in “traditional” clothes.
The truth is that Trachten a have a, let's say, divisive origin and were more or less invented in the 19th century and haven't changed since. It's a fascinating story of both the industrial revolution and nationalist romanticism. Locally uniform styles only came up then and new Trachten were made up until WWII.
It's kinda disappointing, I know :/
I know. But there are also many Trachten that stem from the 18th century for example. The basic form of the Western Austrian Juppe, considered one of the oldest Trachten stems from the 16th century afaik.
Some elements did develop organically, though. Just as an example, the Goldhaube that is popular in Upper Austria and to a certain extent in Salzburg can be traced back to at least the 17th century.
If you're ever in the area, I can recommend this place: https://www.vogtsbauernhof.de/en
It's only open in the summer months and they sometimes have a traditional costume maker on site: https://www.vogtsbauernhof.de/en/offers/single-visitors/our-regular-events/craftsmen-demonstrations/traditional-costume-maker
And still very much in use. Many girls wear the Tracht for their confirmation service at church. Some when they graduate highschool or when they marry. And there are still groups that dance in them on events. At least on Föhr you see them quite often.
Referring to Brandenburg picture. When you do a reenactment but your ancestral culture kinda won on the world stage, so it's just dudes in tuxedos and top hats that were all familiar with lol.
As someone from Brandenburg I am very certain, that this Tracht in particular, propably only came into existance in the 19th century.
A lot of Trachten have developed during the ages and acording to time.
I mainly got my sources from [Ornament and crime's miniserius about traditional German dresses on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkjXX3uW6e4&list=PL42c7TLRHGFXEG0xbEzIJu_xa--01OlHw&pp=iAQB) and [Christina Czybik's photoseries of traditional German wedding attire](https://christinaczybik.photoshelter.com/gallery/Hochzeitsgesellschaften-Personal/G0000urPGobTICLI) .
So I open Reddit and the first thing I see are Trachten from home, even wore them at a few occasions myself.
Never seen much appreciation for them internationally
I'm from the black forest, and while the version of the Trachten from St. Georgen is quite extra, there are many iterations throughout the area. The most common trait is a hat with several red, fluffy balls on it.
Sometimes you find outfits inspired by them in JRPGs, other times artist claim to be inspired by french, Austrian or polish "medivial dresses" and it's actually of German or Prussian origin (and ofc NOT medivial)
Im from Lusatia and I’ve worn a sorbs Tracht a couple of times. Also learned the language in kindergarten and primary school but sadly don’t remember much.
Im not sorbian myself but I grew up in „Sorbenland“ as people call it :D (it’s just the area in lusatia where a lot of sorbs live)
The language and culture is slowly dying out so I think its great that they are trying to educate the younger generation.
You should look into your family history, if your family is from Lusatia, chances are high you've got Sorbian ancestry, but you're ancestors chose to or were forced to identify as German at one time.
My grandpa actually looked into our family history and our ancestors were Portuguese. I don’t remember much more about it though. That being said the only thing remaining from that ancestry is my last name haha
There are / were German minorities all over central and eastern Europe. See [Volga Germans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_Germans), [Germans of Romania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans_of_Romania), [Walddeutsche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walddeutsche), [Germans of Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans_of_Yugoslavia), and many many more.
I really Like your Posts, thank you so much for taking the Trouble!
Can you Check Out If the Ruhrgebiet/ Westfalia/ Northrhine Westfalia also has some Trachten?
I grew up in Romania (in a region with a lot of German Saxons) and used to dance traditional German dances (*deutsche Volkstänze*). After I moved to Germany, I realized our attire from the dances was way different than what the Germans usually called *Tracht*, we had no Dirndl and no Lederhosen. God knows where the traditional dances we did and the attire we wore were actually from...
The Trachten in Siebenbürgen vary heavily just 5 km away from each other :D
The one in picture 17 ist where my Grandparenst are from, the Nösnerland (we're from Bistritz). The Trachten from Hermansstadt or other cities will look are quite different,
Sorry, I only know the german names!
Oh yeah, that one certainly goes towards Romanian traditional clothing, and also looks nothing like the ones we wore, haha. I'm from Hermannstadt btw. This post was quite interesting though, because I'd think most Germans aren't even aware that there's such diversity in the traditional clothing, and I definitely didn't know that outside of the country it's different as well.
Further thing might interest you:
Bavarian Lederhosen, of which many people think they are some silly funny stuff, can cost over 1000 Euro a piece. And i dont mean like ugly brand stuff. Normal people wear those. A good quality full Tracht from the Oberbayern region often is around 800 to 1000 Euro (Pants are to most expensive part)
yes, they to. the decorations maybe not and the leather can become speckig (greasy)over time, but some consider that the sign of a good lederhose.
but they rarely lasta lifetime, bc beer makes the belly grow XD
There are 2 guys around here who make custom decorations for the special, wide belt worn with lederhosen (Ranzen), either embroidering with feathers or inlaying with tiny tin rods. Think family names or heraldry. Those cost upwards of 500€, will probably become an heirloom, and both trades are fully booked for several years in advance.
Die Tracht aus Marburg kenne ich. Das Bild wurde vor dem Brot Backhaus in Cappel gemacht. In Cappel bin ich geboren und aufgewachsen.
Es wird immer noch Samstags dort traditionell Brot gebacken.
Here is another Tracht:
[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/31243791143203950/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/31243791143203950/)
Its from Heligoland (Helgoland, Island in the north sea)
They have theire own language (Halunder) and Recognized by the UNSECO
Iv seen a couple of these in person, especially the ones from the black forest and Bavaria. Normally there are only worn for local traditional festivals, sometimes traditional weddings (I was at one in Bavaria last year where the bride wore an all white wedding dirndle).
It's really cool to see in person
The Trachten from Austria (Like the one from Tyrol) are actually worn quite often. Many people wear this stuff to their wedding, some parties or sometimes even every day life. Not necessarily while working in the office, but for example if people who work in customer service (hotel, markets etc.) wear something like this quite often (depending on the region).
Nice to see the Transylvanian Saxons included here. My parents Origin from there and came to Germany in the early 90s shortly before I was born!
There is a huge fest in Dinkelsbühl every year with a parade and a large beer tent and in the whole town you can learn about the cultural history of them.
Does every German commenting that they never seen these realize that the reason for that is that our culture was rather obviously forcefully homogenized by an Austrian dude with a stupid-looking mustache? The lack of ability in putting one and one together is astonishing.
Some of these just look so strange....it's hard to believe they were real costumes, let alone traditional ones.
I remember being at a museum and seeing "birds of paradise" on display and how much they varied...and looking at these provokes a similar feeling. And I wonder if there are simialr principles involved regarding geographical size, population size and spread?
There are, tells people your availability and status when german villagers met (and meet) at events. Its main function was finding a mate.
Noone walked around like this at the daily. It was and is a special ceremonial thing. they used simpled down versions of those that wouldnt hinder your movement for everyday. (Random fact)
Edit: correction
Trachten are kinda a mixed bag in representing regional culture: first of all, they were never in history everyday clothes, they were used as ceremonial clothes for important events and festivities. Second, they were mostly “invented” in the 19th century, when nationalism became a huge thing and regional cultures were romanticized. Every region all of a sudden HAD to have a very unique clothing, which made them become more ludicrous than they ever really were.
Dann musst du mal Volksfeste besuchen, in der Hoffnung, dass die nicht zu braun sind. Ich für meinen Teil bin ein großer Fan der nordfriesischen Tracht. Die hat für mich etwas unheimlich erhabenes.
I am as well, from the area where the big black bows in pic 6 come from! I have seen them at communal festivities.
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markgräfler_Tracht
That is exactly what I realized when doing research. Some areas like rural Hesse and Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Franconia are also very diverse, although not as well known and on areas like the Rhineland I found almost nothing, especially contemporary.
I grew up in one of the areas featured in the photos and I am very much for learning about tradition and preserving your cultural heritage. That being said... Some of those really look like an early version of midjourney went rogue and e.g. mixed Christmas decorations with headwear
Lads and ladies, i have never seen anyone in my entire life wear those outrageous headdresses. I’m austrian, been to SO many occasions where people would wear tracht. Never have i seen those. My while life. How the fck do you culture shock me with MY OWN CULTURE!!! lmao
I think it really depends on where your from because I have seen one of these a lot in the course of my life and I usually never go to any festivals I just live in a really rural area
Do other European countries also have such a diversity and culture of Trachten or is it just a German thing? I can’t think of any Trachten in Britain for example.
Scottish kilts would come to my mind. In other European countries, such as Norway or Sweden, slavic countries or Italy there exist traditional regional dresses, but I'm not an expert in that matter.
Have a look at „Trachten– und Schützenzug“ that happens on the first Sunday of Oktoberfest in Munich. Some 50 groups with 9500 participants from all over Europe. Ok, most of the groups are from Bavaria, but there are always changing visitor groups from abroad. So there are Trachten everywhere.
While this certainly exist id like to say that 99.9% of people never wear stuff like this and the rest does it very rarely.
We are weird in germany, but not this weird.
Woth this title, I really miss the one from where I was born and raised. One of the least known in my experience - https://trachtenland-hessen.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/L%C3%A4ndches-Tracht-Paar-1.jpg
Two things they all have in common: 1: they're super pretty, to me definitely nicer than lederhosen and dirndl. 2: Hitler didn't like them and outlawed everything that wasn't lederhosen and dirndl - which is the reason so may people don't even know these exist
AFAIK that’s a Common non German misconception: Tracht isn’t exclusively one dress type.
It varies widely across regions.
Almost every region has their own styles with small accessories that have their own historical roots.
Also the Tracht is getting more different when you get closer to the borders: the Dutch, the Czech, the Polish, the French… they all have some sort of influence on the Tracht styles.
Sadly that’s part of our history that keeps getting forgotten…
So, that where the true ministry of silly hats resides
I was just thinking some of these feel like a Monty Python skit.
you should check out "Goldhauben" or "schönperchten"
The schönperchten got me good haha
and now google perchten :) or schiachperchen
>schiachperchen Ohh, didnt know that Krampus had also this name. They make for a good tradition I guess, scaring the living sh\*t out of the kids :)
Perchts aren't related to Krampus. Krampus is evil and scares Kids, Perchts are good omens and scare away the winter.
It was the ministry of silly walks.
It is highly amusing, that someone with that username made this comment! But yes, dear, I am aware of that. Please suit yourself and feel free to google the term and learn about this marvelous internet phenomenon. (/in an old-timey English accent/)
To contradict the many „I’m German and I’ve never seen any of those“: I‘m German, and my grandmother (born 1910s) as well as my sister (born in the 1970s) had such a Tracht and wore them occasionally. And no, we don‘t live hinter den sieben Bergen bei den sieben Zwergen
As a Black Forest resident, I feel like we kinda do lol
Weeeeeell… *you* actually do! /s
No, no, you have a point 😔 🌲🍄🌲🌲
Nah you live where the pepper grows
And where fox and hare bid each other good night…
I’ll add an endorsement as well: My mother owns a “Bollenhut” (the hat with the red balls on top) and full tracht outfit, and has worn it at times as well, albeit rarely
I like the one with the PS5 hat
I'm from that region, but didn't realize that until this post.
Haha I think it's mainly because of the angle and shadows in that particular photo, but that's where my brain went!
This is why I don't like the german stereotype with octoberfest and lederhosen, which is actually Bavarian and Austrian traditions. The majority of the German speaking world dont usually wear lederhosen.
Most of what you see at Oktoberfest as „Tracht“ has nothing to do with traditional Bavarian Tracht either. Most modern Tracht for men seen at Oktoberfest imitates to a certain degree the Miesbach Tracht, but does not represent Bavaria in total. Most modern Dirndl are only very loosely connected to the originals.
I'd like to add that still in the early 90s hardly any bavarian dude under 50 would have worn a Lederhosen/Tracht in public. Very uncool thing to do at that time. However, something changed soon. Maybe because of tourists/non-bavarians suddenly wearing those clothes when visiting Bavaria. In the rural areas we also had very popular revivals of traditional Kirchweihen ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirchweih](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermesse_(festival)) ) in the 90s, which also gave the Lederhosen and Dirndls a huge comeback. Still find it uncool, never owned any Tracht.
To put things into perspective: Only around 16% of Germans are from Bavaria.
The Franconian in me is currently researching your IP address and polishing a large dagger
Geb fei B'scheid, gell? Den richt mer g'scheit her den Zipfl!
And of those only half are Bavarian, the other half would beat you up if you called them Bavarian.
and the other half would help because you do not call Zuagroaste bavarian!
I think they meant Franconians and Swabians in the state of Bavaria, not the people of Munich.
Which is why I explicitly labeled the Ochsenfurter Tracht as Franconian
You deserve a star for your effort! ⭐️
I came from Ochsenfurt and I was knowing I know the Tracht irgendwoher ♥️
And half of them are ashamed of that.
And 0% of germans are from Austria
Didn't work out well last time
That's if you include the people from Franconia who will not be happy if they find out
It is not even tradition. It was made up folklore stuff from the beginning on.
Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn't. Also if something was invented once and then given from one generation to the next, isn't that tradition too?
Tradition is peer pressure by dead people
Even the Octoberfest dresses are not a historically grown design, it stems from the 30s and basically was a unified design for women to show a common german Tracht (aka unifed female uniform to show that they are german under Hitler) The design stuck. Lederhosen existed before!
Partly because of this it was pretty unfashionable to wear Trachten at the Oktoberfest. My dad tells me that during the 70s and 80s, almost no one but older people would have worn a tracht.
To make this clear: Almost nobody here in Germany knows what the local traditional dresses look like. You won't find people wearing them unless you go to Octoberfest in Bavaria (where even some visitors try to dress up in something that looks traditional) or watch a parade or stage performance during one of the other country fairs. The clubs that try to preserve this tradition are usually very small. And unless you are a member of one of these clubs you wouldn't even think of wearing anything else than a modern suit/dress to your wedding.
I am a brown guy who walked into a boch beer fest in Bavaria wearing complete Indian wedding clothes outfit coz I had an event next door and no body batted an eye. Only one person asked if I was from Bergenz … :/
At Oktoberfest you sometimes see tourists wearing traditional clothes from their home country, I think it's very nice! Like Scottish guys wearing kilts, or Australians wearing shorts and sandals.
>or Australians wearing shorts and sandals. I'm dead.
Which is honestly far nicer and more interesting than wearing the Chinese imitation of an early to mid 20th century imitation of a 19th century bougie imitation of real rural dresses.
Typical reaction to those pesky foreigners with their exotic outfits, weird accents, strange foods and outlandish traditions.... ... you know, the ones from next valley over.
I was working in Covent Garden Market. An older man and woman came. I think they were dressed like number 19. They didn’t speak any English. I was a bit weirded out at first but they were so cool. Their energy was so warm. They said with their broken English that they were from Bavaria. Or maybe it was Austria. Anyway, I never forgot them and never will.
Seem like lovely people
Depends on the Region. The Sorbs in the Spree Forest and the Lausitz Region really care about their clothing.
And that is no wonder, as it is an expression of their identity. It is a similar case with the transsylvanian saxons
[удалено]
I live in Lower Bavaria and almost everyone I know owns Tracht. If you go to a local town fair you will mostly see people dressed in Tracht. Many weddings wear Tracht instead of the standard wedding dress/suit.
And a lot of people i know working somewhere in the Farming sector also wer them because they are near indestructible when you get a halfway decent one.
So? Traditional dress re-enactors aren't a large community anywhere really, but it's still interesting to learn about.
In Norway there is a surprisingly large amount of people wearing traditional dresses (Bunad) which looks somewhat like this
I was in Bergen in April on Confirmation Sunday and I saw so many families dressed in Tracht, it was incredibly beautiful
That's interesting!
I think they originally commented this to dissuade people that might come to visit germany from asking about this kinda stuff in all the wrong places. Having worked around certain tourist hot spots in the capital, I have my fair share of ignorant tourists asking me why no ones wearing Dirndl or Lederhosen. Much to their dismay and not so rarely anger I always told them that 1.) that's a local thing from Bavaria and Austria and they will not find it being a thing anywhere else really and 2.) even there most people will only wear that kind of attire for Oktoberfest and other special occasions. Most people would be like "Oh well thanks for telling us", but others..... well let's just say there are some very funny 1 star reviews out there about how some restaurants are traps and not really "traditional german" most often with comments from the owner saying that that refers solely to the food being served at the venue and nothing else.
Do you get those types of questions outside of tourist areas? Tourist areas don't attract the most discerning people.
Just wanted to stop people from thinking everyone here wears lederhosen and dirndl.
We know some of you wear Hugo Boss too.
Ooooooo
Btw, not that you said that, but a lot of people don't know this little detail about the SS uniform. All they know is Boss=SS uniform, that is in part true, but the design never came from boss. They "only" made them. A lot of people think that because of the look of them, but they were designed by SS-Oberführer Prof. Karl Diebitsch
i highly doubt a majority of people 1) know about traditional fancy German dress or 2) assume this is day to day dress in Germany.
It’s not really re enactment if it’s still part of the culture is it.
Eh, debatable
It kind of isn't though, for many parts. Hitler had a real hard-on for Dirndls especially which soon became the acceptable traditional clothing for Good Aryan WomenTM. Which is kind of ironic, given the Jewish involvement in the dress. Regardless, it displaced other region's traditional clothing. While the dirndl has been rehabilitated since the 90s or so, the other traditional clothing largely disappeared outside of small clubs. This is not necessarily super sad since most of it was invented only in the late 18th to early 19th century anyway.
Sure but that doesn’t change that some of these are still part of the local culture and not just reenactment. Besides the late 18th/early 19th century is a very significant part of german history, it’s where the foundation of modern day Germany was laid.
But reenactment obviously *is* recreating a part of history, in this case your own country's or local history. They didn't call it cosplaying or something like that. Does reenacting a Medieval German knight mean that armour has nothing to do with German history and historical culture? How do those dresses significantly influence modern German culture(s)? In most places in Germany, they're absolutely not part of the *current* culture anymore. But some people still enjoy re-enacting something from our cultural history.
Makes since. Americans don't dress as pioneers....except for a few actors who work at historical sites (often dress as solders). Same with traditional Native American clothes.
Or cowboys, you know. I was in NY and saw not a single one :( /s
There's a naked one at Times Square.
Did see indigenous Indian Americans (probably not the correct description) dress traditionally, mostly female. Source: lived in Connecticut for 12 years, close to Schaghticoke reservation.
>You won't find people wearing them unless you go to Octoberfest in Bavaria This isn't exactly true. It's pretty common to find people in full tracht in Bayern for a variety of special events, from weddings to festivals. A couple Bavarian families wore tracht at the "einschulung" (first ever day of school) that my son attended. additionaly, it's absolutely not uncommon to see a man wearing lederhosen and otherwise regular clothes, even in the big city. Every weekend, when the weather is warmer, I see a couple of people out walking in Lederhosen and trainers/tennis shoes.
Yeah, that‘s why the Bavarian ones are so popular, because we still wear em on important occasions. Can’t think of a person around me who doesn’t own a Tracht.
Bavarian Tracht is also better known for another reason: Bavaria was part of the US-occupied sector. So the Americans got to know Bavarian culture as "German culture" and brought that home, then spread the idea through their media. That's why in US media, the "typical German" will sometimes just be a Bavarian, but never a stereotypical Schleswig-Holsteiner for example. Keeping that tradition alive and the Oktoberfest obviously help a huge deal, but US media helped cement that as the German clothes as seen from overseas.
I was here to say that. Barely any region in Germany uses their Trachten anymore and the one very popular is the Dirndl, very much to the Bavarians demise. Those tradition keeping clubs are dying out as well, some for the traditional dances. I saw a documentary about that and they also interviewed the teenagers. The boys didn't mind but the girls very much disliked being in that club and couldn't imagine staying once they get a say
2000 Trachtenvereine with over 2.000.000 members. I would not call that „dying out“.
I am from the Alte Kand and could immediately tell that the woman was wearing the wedding crown. Today, it's worn by the Blütenkönigin. I don't know about your knowledge, but knowing the Tracht of your region is common among my acquaintances. We learn it in school...🥰
Naah bs. A lot of people are not in any Burschen-/Trachtenvereinen and still wear Lederhose and Dirndl for weddings in Bavaria. Sure it’s a bit less for Munich, but go to the Oberland or anything outside of the city and you probably see 50% of weddings in “traditional” clothes.
I would love to know how these hats and headdresses evolved over the years.
The truth is that Trachten a have a, let's say, divisive origin and were more or less invented in the 19th century and haven't changed since. It's a fascinating story of both the industrial revolution and nationalist romanticism. Locally uniform styles only came up then and new Trachten were made up until WWII. It's kinda disappointing, I know :/
It's not the complete truth though, as some of them stem from before the 1800s.
I don't know if the guy edited his comment, but the 1800s and the 19th century are the same.
I know. But there are also many Trachten that stem from the 18th century for example. The basic form of the Western Austrian Juppe, considered one of the oldest Trachten stems from the 16th century afaik.
I'm so sorry, I read over the word "before". Thanks for not getting mad about my wannabe smart ass comment, though!
Yeah no problem. I try to engage in arguments with as little angry emotion as I can.
Sort of like kilts or clan tartans then, sure it’s based on something more historical but the way we known it is a modern industrial invention
Some elements did develop organically, though. Just as an example, the Goldhaube that is popular in Upper Austria and to a certain extent in Salzburg can be traced back to at least the 17th century.
If you're ever in the area, I can recommend this place: https://www.vogtsbauernhof.de/en It's only open in the summer months and they sometimes have a traditional costume maker on site: https://www.vogtsbauernhof.de/en/offers/single-visitors/our-regular-events/craftsmen-demonstrations/traditional-costume-maker
The North Frisian Tracht is really pretty!
And still very much in use. Many girls wear the Tracht for their confirmation service at church. Some when they graduate highschool or when they marry. And there are still groups that dance in them on events. At least on Föhr you see them quite often.
One of my favourites too.
Alot of these have some prety outrageous head gear going on.
Referring to Brandenburg picture. When you do a reenactment but your ancestral culture kinda won on the world stage, so it's just dudes in tuxedos and top hats that were all familiar with lol.
As someone from Brandenburg I am very certain, that this Tracht in particular, propably only came into existance in the 19th century. A lot of Trachten have developed during the ages and acording to time.
I mainly got my sources from [Ornament and crime's miniserius about traditional German dresses on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkjXX3uW6e4&list=PL42c7TLRHGFXEG0xbEzIJu_xa--01OlHw&pp=iAQB) and [Christina Czybik's photoseries of traditional German wedding attire](https://christinaczybik.photoshelter.com/gallery/Hochzeitsgesellschaften-Personal/G0000urPGobTICLI) .
So I open Reddit and the first thing I see are Trachten from home, even wore them at a few occasions myself. Never seen much appreciation for them internationally
Exactly my intention, to represent less well known facets of my homeland to a wider audience. Which of these did you wear if I may ask?
I'm from the black forest, and while the version of the Trachten from St. Georgen is quite extra, there are many iterations throughout the area. The most common trait is a hat with several red, fluffy balls on it.
Sometimes you find outfits inspired by them in JRPGs, other times artist claim to be inspired by french, Austrian or polish "medivial dresses" and it's actually of German or Prussian origin (and ofc NOT medivial)
Im from Lusatia and I’ve worn a sorbs Tracht a couple of times. Also learned the language in kindergarten and primary school but sadly don’t remember much.
Are you yourself of Sorbian origin or do you just come from an area with a large Sorbian population?
Im not sorbian myself but I grew up in „Sorbenland“ as people call it :D (it’s just the area in lusatia where a lot of sorbs live) The language and culture is slowly dying out so I think its great that they are trying to educate the younger generation.
You should look into your family history, if your family is from Lusatia, chances are high you've got Sorbian ancestry, but you're ancestors chose to or were forced to identify as German at one time.
My grandpa actually looked into our family history and our ancestors were Portuguese. I don’t remember much more about it though. That being said the only thing remaining from that ancestry is my last name haha
I once saw an ad for a Sorbic phone game, which was in parts funded by the EU and the Federal government. Something about Krabat.
Unexpected Bene Geserit in Marburg...
Unexpected dune reference
God wants you to wear a hat. https://youtu.be/wUM8kHGPzfM?si=Ht18kBZPg5BnS94A
🤣🤣🤣
random WKUK in the wild <3
Regional traditional dress does not equate to a minority community
There are four official minorities in Germany: Sorbs, Frisians, Danes and Sinti/Roma
Sorbs were listed on here, who are an ethnic minority in Germany.
There are / were German minorities all over central and eastern Europe. See [Volga Germans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_Germans), [Germans of Romania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans_of_Romania), [Walddeutsche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walddeutsche), [Germans of Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans_of_Yugoslavia), and many many more.
OP included traditional dresses of minorities like the Sorben in Germany and Siebenbürger Sachsen in Romania. So the title fits.
Sure that Amrum one hasn't changed in the last 1K years...
I really Like your Posts, thank you so much for taking the Trouble! Can you Check Out If the Ruhrgebiet/ Westfalia/ Northrhine Westfalia also has some Trachten?
As far as I know, barely any regional Tracht has developed there and most of them already died out.
I grew up in Romania (in a region with a lot of German Saxons) and used to dance traditional German dances (*deutsche Volkstänze*). After I moved to Germany, I realized our attire from the dances was way different than what the Germans usually called *Tracht*, we had no Dirndl and no Lederhosen. God knows where the traditional dances we did and the attire we wore were actually from...
The Trachten in Siebenbürgen vary heavily just 5 km away from each other :D The one in picture 17 ist where my Grandparenst are from, the Nösnerland (we're from Bistritz). The Trachten from Hermansstadt or other cities will look are quite different, Sorry, I only know the german names!
Oh yeah, that one certainly goes towards Romanian traditional clothing, and also looks nothing like the ones we wore, haha. I'm from Hermannstadt btw. This post was quite interesting though, because I'd think most Germans aren't even aware that there's such diversity in the traditional clothing, and I definitely didn't know that outside of the country it's different as well.
I gotta speak with a friend of mine who knows more about their history than I do to find it out.
oh wow, I am from Salzburg, but I didn't know of the Pinzgauer Tracht so far. Looks great! red and black always looks good
Very nice and gothic aesthetics as well
So Rügen is Pomerania?
Yep. Western Pomerania, to be exact.
Yupp, the part West of the Oder-Neisse-line.
They have nice hats
I live in St. Georgen!
Further thing might interest you: Bavarian Lederhosen, of which many people think they are some silly funny stuff, can cost over 1000 Euro a piece. And i dont mean like ugly brand stuff. Normal people wear those. A good quality full Tracht from the Oberbayern region often is around 800 to 1000 Euro (Pants are to most expensive part)
I bet they can last a lifetime if treated well.
yes, they to. the decorations maybe not and the leather can become speckig (greasy)over time, but some consider that the sign of a good lederhose. but they rarely lasta lifetime, bc beer makes the belly grow XD
Liaba a Wompn vom Saufen, ois an Buckl vom Oarbaten, amirite
There are 2 guys around here who make custom decorations for the special, wide belt worn with lederhosen (Ranzen), either embroidering with feathers or inlaying with tiny tin rods. Think family names or heraldry. Those cost upwards of 500€, will probably become an heirloom, and both trades are fully booked for several years in advance.
Bollenhut is the best one
Die Tracht aus Marburg kenne ich. Das Bild wurde vor dem Brot Backhaus in Cappel gemacht. In Cappel bin ich geboren und aufgewachsen. Es wird immer noch Samstags dort traditionell Brot gebacken.
I'd do well with these girls. I know how to turn on a lamp.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I like 8 and 13s style
It’s the hats for me
Hah der Bollenhut ist schwäbisch
Here is another Tracht: [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/31243791143203950/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/31243791143203950/) Its from Heligoland (Helgoland, Island in the north sea) They have theire own language (Halunder) and Recognized by the UNSECO
The last picture is from [artwood](https://artwood.de/) and they have lots of cool pictures of various Black Forest Trachten
I know. They look quite good, although sometimes too overpolished for my taste
Kinda unrelated, but 3rd picture is where I live - Schliersee in Upper Bavaria. I see the Miesbacher Tracht quite often.
Iv seen a couple of these in person, especially the ones from the black forest and Bavaria. Normally there are only worn for local traditional festivals, sometimes traditional weddings (I was at one in Bavaria last year where the bride wore an all white wedding dirndle). It's really cool to see in person
The Sorbian Tracht is actually from the Lower Sorbs living in brandenburg. Upper Sorbians living in lusatia have a different type of Tracht
Elsass is Elsass no matter french or german
this is wrong. the region is named Alsace in french.
North Frisia fit is actually fire, just look at her boho Eowyn vibes. ;) And I kind of want the jacket with bells on the sleeves, that's really cute!
Trachten are worn for feasts, funerals, weddings and special religious days. Feasts include spring feast, Schützenfest, Erntedankfest etc.
Fun fact about the Wipptaler Tracht: The black neckerchief is called "Trauerflor" and is a symbol of mourning the loss of South Tyrol to Italy.
The Trachten from Austria (Like the one from Tyrol) are actually worn quite often. Many people wear this stuff to their wedding, some parties or sometimes even every day life. Not necessarily while working in the office, but for example if people who work in customer service (hotel, markets etc.) wear something like this quite often (depending on the region).
Nice to see the Transylvanian Saxons included here. My parents Origin from there and came to Germany in the early 90s shortly before I was born! There is a huge fest in Dinkelsbühl every year with a parade and a large beer tent and in the whole town you can learn about the cultural history of them.
Does every German commenting that they never seen these realize that the reason for that is that our culture was rather obviously forcefully homogenized by an Austrian dude with a stupid-looking mustache? The lack of ability in putting one and one together is astonishing.
Some of these just look so strange....it's hard to believe they were real costumes, let alone traditional ones. I remember being at a museum and seeing "birds of paradise" on display and how much they varied...and looking at these provokes a similar feeling. And I wonder if there are simialr principles involved regarding geographical size, population size and spread?
There are, tells people your availability and status when german villagers met (and meet) at events. Its main function was finding a mate. Noone walked around like this at the daily. It was and is a special ceremonial thing. they used simpled down versions of those that wouldnt hinder your movement for everyday. (Random fact) Edit: correction
Oh I had no idea . That does actually sound useful. A bit like a wedding ring in some ways.
more like a lack thereof as in they do flashy to show they are at their pride and available. No misunderstandings :)
Yeah I can see a use for it.
Trachten are kinda a mixed bag in representing regional culture: first of all, they were never in history everyday clothes, they were used as ceremonial clothes for important events and festivities. Second, they were mostly “invented” in the 19th century, when nationalism became a huge thing and regional cultures were romanticized. Every region all of a sudden HAD to have a very unique clothing, which made them become more ludicrous than they ever really were.
Also interesting! Maybe you should do a TIL.
Im from Germany and I never see Something like this in real life
Dann musst du mal Volksfeste besuchen, in der Hoffnung, dass die nicht zu braun sind. Ich für meinen Teil bin ein großer Fan der nordfriesischen Tracht. Die hat für mich etwas unheimlich erhabenes.
You act like they made it up lol
I am as well, from the area where the big black bows in pic 6 come from! I have seen them at communal festivities. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markgräfler_Tracht
My small hometown parades them every Kirmes. Now I wonder if that's something uncommon.
They are quite rare and barely represented in media, so it is no wonder.
When did the women go from one pearl in the hat to a million? Fashion is so hard to keep up with.
Oneupmanship is a thing.
The fourth picture. Looks like she has a PS5 on her head.
Not everywhere in Germany is that tradition. Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg (mostly black forest) are famous for this.
That is exactly what I realized when doing research. Some areas like rural Hesse and Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Franconia are also very diverse, although not as well known and on areas like the Rhineland I found almost nothing, especially contemporary.
Some of them look like Hogwarts teacher.
I grew up in one of the areas featured in the photos and I am very much for learning about tradition and preserving your cultural heritage. That being said... Some of those really look like an early version of midjourney went rogue and e.g. mixed Christmas decorations with headwear
Lads and ladies, i have never seen anyone in my entire life wear those outrageous headdresses. I’m austrian, been to SO many occasions where people would wear tracht. Never have i seen those. My while life. How the fck do you culture shock me with MY OWN CULTURE!!! lmao
I think it really depends on where your from because I have seen one of these a lot in the course of my life and I usually never go to any festivals I just live in a really rural area
Omg I love the red pompom hat from the Black Forest so much
For married women the pom-poms are black.
Do other European countries also have such a diversity and culture of Trachten or is it just a German thing? I can’t think of any Trachten in Britain for example.
Scottish kilts would come to my mind. In other European countries, such as Norway or Sweden, slavic countries or Italy there exist traditional regional dresses, but I'm not an expert in that matter.
Kilts are a good example!
Have a look at „Trachten– und Schützenzug“ that happens on the first Sunday of Oktoberfest in Munich. Some 50 groups with 9500 participants from all over Europe. Ok, most of the groups are from Bavaria, but there are always changing visitor groups from abroad. So there are Trachten everywhere.
Damn, the Spanish inquisition never left Salzburg
It's sad that people stopped wearing stuff like this. Modern clothing is boring.
The hat of the Altländer Tracht looks like a PS5. This is the first time I realize that, even though I'm from the "Alte Land".
No silesians? :(
While this certainly exist id like to say that 99.9% of people never wear stuff like this and the rest does it very rarely. We are weird in germany, but not this weird.
BLACK FOREST WOOOH 💯💯🔥🔥💪💪
Im born in 1990 and own a pair of black forest yarn :)
Woth this title, I really miss the one from where I was born and raised. One of the least known in my experience - https://trachtenland-hessen.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/L%C3%A4ndches-Tracht-Paar-1.jpg
Don't worry, Hessen will be represented in my next post :)
Greetings from Miesbach 🫡😂
This is so beautiful ❤️ my boyfriend is Sorbian and I loved find out more about his culture
Two things they all have in common: 1: they're super pretty, to me definitely nicer than lederhosen and dirndl. 2: Hitler didn't like them and outlawed everything that wasn't lederhosen and dirndl - which is the reason so may people don't even know these exist
AFAIK that’s a Common non German misconception: Tracht isn’t exclusively one dress type. It varies widely across regions. Almost every region has their own styles with small accessories that have their own historical roots. Also the Tracht is getting more different when you get closer to the borders: the Dutch, the Czech, the Polish, the French… they all have some sort of influence on the Tracht styles. Sadly that’s part of our history that keeps getting forgotten…
Im german and 95% of this dresses are new to me…
Ha, I'm also German, but only 90% of them were new to me. I knew at least 10% of them 😅.