Rudolstadt (dpa/th) – 300 years after its first edition, this year’s Rudolstadt bird shooting begins on Friday (6 p.m.). After a two-year Corona break, around half a million visitors are expected to attend Thuringia’s largest folk festival by August 28, as the event manager Frank Grünert said. Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) has announced that he will be in Rudolstadt for the opening, who will give a greeting and tap the beer for the festival, as the State Chancellery announced.
The “Rudolstadt bird shooting” was held for the first time on August 28, 1722. Both Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, who belonged to the Rudolstadt riflemen’s guild, are said to have been enthusiastic visitors to the folk festival. The festival was celebrated on the Oberanger until 1952, since 1953 the Bleichwiese has been the venue. According to the city, more than 70 showmen will be present at the Bleichwiese fairground this year, with offers ranging from nostalgic to ultra-modern, as Grünert said.
