Carry on the Flame – Results of the student’s questionnaire

With a questionnaire the students of all participating schools were asked about different aspects during the whole project. They were asked about their knowledge of human heritage and UNESCO World Heritage, their knowledge of local World Heritage sites, their attitudes to the criteria for appreciation and their knowledge of different learning methods used or introduced in the project.

 The complete questionnaire can be accessed via the following link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7VEUmwl3lyAbAdH43RfCEpGga9uwdMfr8cVSWSP0M4XS8zw/viewform?c=0&w=1

The evaluation was carried out by student teams and will be briefly presented in the following.

The present evaluation is based on 90 questionnaires, almost half of which came from German pupils. This leads to an overemphasis on World Heritage Sites from Germany, as these were mentioned more frequently due to their higher profile. The previous knowledge of the pupils was rather medium estimated by them - at the end of the project a clear improvement can be noticed here.

Among the eleven best-known UNESCO sites in the participating countries, there are four from Germany for this reason. It is striking that from Barcelona only the Sagrada familia made it to the top list. Barcelona has numerous world heritage sites within its city limits, so that the nominations of the pupils were better distributed. However, individual students had also copied complete lists from the internet, but these were not included in the evaluation.

Works of art and monuments were often mentioned as belonging to the world heritage. What is surprising, however, is that language and traditional food were mentioned very frequently in the 90 entries. Apparently, these were regarded as very formative for one's own identity. Nature, environment and industrial plants were mentioned rather rarely.

Among the numerous criteria for the evaluation of one's own heirloom, objects that are significant for family history or personal history (ten mentions each) are particularly striking. Surprisingly, photos were rarely mentioned among the answers freely formulated by the survey participants.

In the criteria for the official World Heritage Site, particular emphasis is placed on the age of the site and its historical significance.

Among the well-known learning and teaching methods, Kahoot (https://kahoot.com/) and Quizlet (https://quizlet.com) are particularly worthy of mention with more than 30 mentions at the beginning (degree of recognition by more than 1/3 of the pupils). By using the methods, the level of awareness has increased significantly and national differences have decreased. It was possible to learn clearly from each other.

The art of organ building - an immaterial heritage of Germany

• The art of organ building has a long tradition in Germany. Organs have been built and played in Central Europe for over 1200 years. Organ playing has its greatest importance in the Christian liturgy . 
• Organ builders not only build the instruments, but also design and construct them. They determine the sound of the instrument and also take care of maintaining and cleaning organs and tuning them.
• Organ building, together with organ music, was included in the worldwide register of immaterial cultural heritage in

  

  The Beckerath-organ of St. Pius church in
  Obertshausen. The Beckerath company
  is an organ manufacturer from Hamburg.
  Picture: A.Murmann CC-BY-SA 4.0

  2017 as a form of culture and craftsmanship.
• Germany is the organ country - hardly any other country has so many organs. Since the Baroque period, many famous composers have written organ works, for example Johann Sebastian Bach or Brahms and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
• The particularly rich and lively culture of organ building and organ music is demonstrated by 50,000 organs in Germany, 400 organ building companies with approx. 1,800 employees and 180 trainees as well as 3,500 full-time and ten thousand honorary organists.
• Most organs in Germany are located in churches.

 

The Oktoberfest

The origin

The first Oktoberfest took place in 1810 in honour of the wedding of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The festivities began on 12 October 12th 1810 and ended on October 17th with a horse race.

Picture: Octagon, www.wikipedia.org CC BY-SA 3.0

What's the Wiesn?

Wiesn is Bavarian and means meadow. The frequently used apostrophe Wies'n is not used according to the valid spelling. The Wiesn is the festival site where the Oktoberfest has been held regularly since the beginning of 1810.

Why is it called Oktoberfest and not Septemberfest?

The first Oktoberfest began on 17 October. Today the Wiesn begins exactly one month earlier and usually ends on one of the first days of summer. Since then only the last Wiesn weekend falls in October.

Historical development of the festival

Since 1850, the statue of Bavaria, almost 20 metres high, has towered over the Festwiese. The Hall of Fame at the foot of the Bavaria was completed in 1853. In the following years some festivities were cancelled. This was due to two cholera epidemics in 1854 and 1873, the Prussian-Austrian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Oktoberfest developed more and more into the popular festival known all over the world today. It was extended in time and brought forward to the usually beautiful and warm last days of September due to the Indian summer. Since then only the last Wiesn weekend falls in October.

• The Wiesn celebrated its 100th birthday in 1910.
• From 1914 to 1918 the festival was cancelled because of the First World War.
• In 1935 the 125th anniversary was pompously staged; among other things with a large jubilee procession.
• During the Second World War from 1939 to 1945 there was no festival.
• From 1946 to 1948, there was an Autumn Festival, but no Oktoberfest.
• The Oktoberfest has been cancelled 24 times since its inception.
• The first Oktoberfest after the war took place in September 1949.
• The horse race was no longer held after the war.

Bomb attack

On the evening of 26 September 1980, a bomb exploded at the main entrance of Wies´n . As a result, 13 people died there and over 200 were injured, 65 of them seriously. The assassination is considered one of the most serious terrorist attacks in German history. In addition, the crime has still not been fully solved and completed.

Oktoberfest beer

Oktoberfestbier is a very special beer that is brewed by only a few Munich breweries especially for the Wiesn-Gaudi. This has a positive effect on the taste, but a negative effect on the price. A measure (one measure = 1l) of beer costs between 10,70€ and 11,50€. The special Oktoberfest beer brewed according to the original recipe has approx.

6% alcohol (Paulaner), 6.1% (Löwenbräu), 6.0% (Augustiner), 6.3% (Hofbräu)

The Oktoberfest beer has a sweeter and fuller taste due to more barley malt than other typical beers. In addition, the barley malt gives the beer more original gravity. Thus the special beer tastes somewhat sweeter and more substantial, than usual wheat beer. However, the original Oktoberfest beer is not excessively sweet, thanks to the hops, which bring in a bitter taste. The Bavarians describe the beer as wonderfully drinkable.

Attractions

Pic.: Michael.chlistalla, www.wikipedia.org CC BY-SA 3.0

In total there are around 29 marquees. The tents are equipped with up to 4500 benches and tables for up to 8540 seats. There is also a lot of food and drinks. Around the opening hours there are various Oktoberfest bands who perform live throughout the day. A good   atmosphere and fun attractions are provided for. Since the tents have sometimes had to be closed due to overcrowding in recent years, the City of Munich has set up a “Wiesnbarometer” on its website, which predicts the occupancy rate of the tents. In addition to the 14 large marquees and 15 smaller marquees, there are several foodtrucks, lottery stalls, beer wagons and, among other things, many rides, such as round, high and running rides, a white water ride and several roller coasters, including the Olympia Looping, the largest mobile roller coaster in the world with five loops. Among them is the famous Ferris wheel, which was first erected and put into operation in 1880. This is one of the most famous and successful attractions of the Wiesn. 

By Bastian

My personal heritage - The Spoon of Seligenstadt

Description of the object:

My subject is the 'Geleitslöffel' from Seligenstadt. This is a big spoon and an important subject of the history of my hometown Seligenstadt.

What is/was it used for?

In the past merchants travelled in a convoy to the fair of Frankfurt - an important trading town close to Seligenstadt. My hometown used to be the last stop before the final destination being just one day ride away.

The escort spoon is a big from which the people earlier of the tradition have followed and 1 liter of wine have drunk up without in press.

The spoon - picture copyrighted and used by kind 

permission of the Frankfurter Hof

What is it made of?

It is brown and from walnut-tree wood. His masses are 77 centimeters amount to them chains in the spoon hangs amounts to proud 110 centimeters.It consists of a piece of wood.

Why is it relevant to me and how did I get it?

It is relevant to me because it belongs to my family since 1861, besides, it is a subject very importantly for the history(story) of my homeland city Seligenstadt.

Why do I want it to be passed over?

I want it to be handed over because it is already very old and I want it to be many years older.

Who would I pass it on to?

I would like to hand it to my children or grandchildren.

What can you do to preserve the object you have chosen?

I can take care of it so it does not break. Now it is in the museum in Wiesbaden.

The Geleit of Seligenstadt

The historical origin

Frankfurt has been an important trade and exhibition centre since the Middle Ages. Twice a year merchants moved there to offer their goods. To protect them from attacks, they formed travel groups. In the year 1240 the merchants were given safe protection against robbers by a letter of convoy (a written assurance from the emperor). All sovereigns were obliged by this letter to protect the convoyn with armed escort soldiers - this was the so-called "escort" (Geleit).

Seligenstadt was the last stop before the fair in Frankfurt - only one day's journey away. The train then had a lonely, difficult and dangerous stage through the Spessart behind it. That was a reason to celebrate.


Convoy party

The convoy has been a unique custom since the

The Geleit convoy at Seligenstadt (2015), 

picture: M.Murmann CC BY-SA 4.0

Middle Ages, which only exists in Seligenstadt.  On June 1sta historic merchant train starts in Augsburg. With horse and carriage over 340 km people dressed up as traders move to Seligenstadt according to the historical model. The citizens of Seligenstadt dress in typical 18th century robes. In the past, about 370 people walked with them. The route led mainly over forest meadows and cycle paths. The convoy celebration takes place every 4 years. The special highlight is the convoy through the town with a historical spoon drink. Who did not manage the litre wine from a big wooden spoon, had to pay for all the food supply. This test is called "nail test".


The spoon drink

The spoon drink belongs to the Hansel customs. Citizens use it to denote the admission customs through which one became a member of a community. Every new man or woman who took part in a convoy for the first time in the convoy carriage was accepted into the community of merchants by the Hansel custom. The symbolic annoyance of the merchants in Seligenstadt was not a joke, it was rather felt and practiced as a binding legal custom. The travel party in the guest room gathered for a spoon drink. The travelling merchants were wrapped around the neck with the wooden chain of the spoon so that it was tied to the spoon. It was only after the drink that he was redeemed. In general the Hänsel custom existed to test whether the newcomer had courage and stability. It was demanded that the husk of the teaspoon be filled with a litre of wine and to be drunk in one go. 

You can read on the spoon: "It's the custom to pour a glass of wine and remember what's the spoon's right."

The tradition of the spoon drink is still alive today. Nowadays, celebrities like 2015  the prime minister of Hesse Volker Bouffier and others.

Guard dancing workshop in Babenhausen

On May 2nd, 2019 Maria, Alicia, Joana, Sophia, Amy and Mia organized a Garde workshop for the exchange students from Lithuania, Spain and Portugal of the Erasmus project. When the Germans went to Spain they also did a Flamenco workshop with all the countries, prepared by the Spanish student team. The idea behind was to introduce a local traditional dance to the visiting students.

At 8.30 we had welcomed the exchange students in the foyer. After we met we went together to the sports hall. When everyone had changed their clothes, we warmed up. First of all we ran five rounds through the hall, afterwards we stretched ourselves.

When we all were warmed up, we split up country wise. We wanted to do a kind of European championship (the real one taking place in a town nearby the weekend after). There were always two Germans per group who taught them the dance steps. Each group had ten minutes to create a little dance. After the time was over, the Lithuanians presented first. They were all very in sync and were able to implement the learned steps very well. The Portuguese had a shorter dance but they also did very well. The Spanish presented last, their steps were very demanding.

After everyone had presented we had to decide a winner. They all did their best so we couldn´t decide one.

It was really surprising how well they did, after the short time.

Guard dance as a competitive sport

Guard dance is today much more than attractive enrichment of carnival events. Several sports federations have further developed the dance direction into a competitive sport, which involves competitions and competition between several dance groups or soloists.

The DVG is particularly present in our region as an association - as can be seen from the fact that the European Championships have been held twice in recent years alone in nearby Hanau.

Its competition system comprises ten different disciplines in three age groups and divided into three performance classes .In the tournament guards there are different championships, like the German championship, the Masterscup, the European championship and national championships for e.g. Hessen or Bavaria. This youtube-video gives an impression of the European Championships 2019 in the Polka discipline: European Championship 2019 (Youtube)

At the award ceremony there will be one winning group from each performance class (Bundesliga). In addition to the first place, the second and third places will also be chosen. The winning group always receives a trophy and a certificate. The second and the third place can also get a trophy, but that depends on the tournament, otherwise the second and the third place get a certificate and a medal as an alternative to the trophy.

Sophia

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Not all of the mentioned ten disciplines refer to the Guard dance sport. Nevertheless, the requirements of the most important disciplines will be presented:

In the discipline Polka the following is required:

• Speed, tact
• Modified dance steps
• Acrobatic elements such as wheels, jumps and splits
• Polka music as well as polka-like rhythms in 2/4 time may be used in the polka.

In the discipline March the following is required:

• Music of the style Marsch
• straight and military attitude
• fast movements
• no individual passages (in the group dance, everyone dances everything and nobody alone)

In the discipline Guard dance Solo the following is required:

•  fast change of place
•  many transitions between step combinations and technical elements
•  Music of style Polka
•  Variety of steps in the place and in the movement

The dancing of the guards

What is „Garde“?

A guard in the carnival sense can be: a group satirising the military or a dance group. These guards are an important part of stage shows and parades on the street. They are around for almost a hundred years. 

Traditional costume of a Tanzmariechen (Female Guard Dancer) of 

the Group “Blaue Funken” from Cologne, picture: © Raimond Spekking 

CC BY-SA 4.0 www.wikipedia.org, slightly modified

Carnival garrison emerged as a persiflage (witty mockery by exaggerating imitation) on the military. They originated in the 1820s and 1830s. Traditionally they danced to marching music. At the same time, a different style of dance inspired by Slavic and Bavarian folk music developed in the Netherlands and Belgium. This dancing is done in polka style. While the marching style is more military and jagged, dances in polka style also contain gymnastic and acrobatic elements. The dancing usually takes place in groups. But there are also solo performances and dancing couples.

Although every guard is free in designing their uniforms, many guards are strongly inspired by historical models. Especially uniforms from the 17th to the 19th century are often faithfully reproduced, often in elaborate manual work. Dancing guard costumes nowadays are more oriented to modern cuts and fabrics. Guard dance is also practiced as a competitive sport - up to European Championships.

You want to get an impression of the dances:

Polka style (Youtube)
March style 1 (Youtube)
March style 2 (Youtube)

Large mixed guard are typical for the Cologne region. These show very often lifting figures, litters and acrobatic inserts : Westerwaldsterne (Youtube)

An interview in the Barcelona Zoo

In this video Spanish students from the Erasmus+ team interview Joan, an educator who works in the Zoo. They talk about the importance to keep biodiversity, what does mean its loss and how Zoos work to preserve it.

What does the word “traditions” mean to you?

·         Family meetings, things, that was kept for years

·         I think that means something that all generations do

·         Tradition means a typical activity that we repeat every year and we have different ones depending the  area you live

·         For me tradition means culture, history and union

·         Tradition is something what could be good in many ways but there also some bad sides like traditions what we should change. And the good traditions are like our past and they should be kept alive

·         The word means something special for me, especially if the tradition is family´s. Tradition to me is something important in the world, because we can know what my background did in the past

·         For me traditions are those celebrations define our family and country and that you value  because they promotes people gather together

·         Traditions help you realize your national identify. You feel you belong to a certain community and you do not feel lonely

·         Traditions is that what makes our countries special

·         The word traditions means posterity, culture, family and good times

·         I think that is it a thing that can unite you with your country

·         I think traditions are important for us, it can help us to know more about our culture and history but there are a lot of old traditions that I think are useless like bullfighting that the only thing they do is hurting animals

·         It is a culture

·         For me, tradition is something that passes from generation to generation to apply us for ours olds costumes, something that for us symbolizes a history

·         Tradition means to me an important thing for me to passion and share with family

·         For me the word tradition means things from older generations and that are things that we also practice today

·         When I think about tradition, I think about family feast like Christmas or Easter.

·         It means memories. When you preserve a Tradition you preserve the culture of a Country. And most important, you make people feel united together and it is just so beautiful.

·         For me tradition means legacy, like something we should keep for future generations

·         Tradition is the value that we have to carry on. It is the way which can help develop ourselves, our families, country and whole world.

·         For me it is family events like Christmas and Easter. In our family we have a lot of traditions

·         It is something that exist only in one land and is older than 100 years

·         It is the memories from the past we should remember every year. Because they mean joy and promote people gather together

·         Tradition is a celebration, celebrated from children to adults. It is celebration which might have importance for European, country, family level. It is also can be your own tradition, only by own

·         Tradition means values and customs that people keep to the future

Tasmanian devils - in danger of extinction because of cancer?

Tasmanian Devils are today the largest surviving marsupial predators. They are only available on the Australian island of Tasmania. In 1999 about 100,000 of their kind were still alive. Their greatest threat today is transmissible cancer.  As a result the population has collapsed by 85%. It is feared that the species will die out in the near future.

The main problem of the devil

Young Tasmanian Devil,

picture: KeresH, www.wikipedia.org CC BY-SA 4.0

The disease that afflicts pouched devils is known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD). The pathogen is an infectious tumor, that is, the cancer cells themselves are the transmitted pathogen. Only one more disease is known worldwide for such an infection path. In regions that were densely populated with devils, all of them died within a period of twelve to eighteen months. So far, the outbreak of the disease has focused on the eastern Tasmania. At the beginning of 2005, however, three cases were reported in the south of the island. If the development continues the same, Tasmanian devils will die out within the next 20 to 30 years. The living Tasmanian devils are all relatively closely related. As a result, their immune systems are very similar - a disadvantage in warding off this disease, as it can spread more easily.

Disease

Swelling and lumps around the mouth are the first symptom. These nodules develop into tumors that spread from the head over the entire body. The tumors disturb the animals when eating and affected animals eventually starve because they are no longer able to absorb food.

Conservation and cure

In March 2013, Cambridge University researchers found a starting point for a vaccine. There is still a need for more testing and research, but the new findings could, for the first time, provide a way to protect the planet's last great predatory planets from final extinction. Action is also taken to introduce an ex-situ survival plan. This means that zoos try to have a healthy population outside the devils natural habitat – for example in zoos outside Australia. Because of that Tasmanian devils are on exhibit in zoos as Copenhagen in Denmark oder Planckendael zoo in Beligium.

A Chihuahua as a personal heritage

My Personal and my family’s personal heritage is a Chihuahua, a small dog, her name is Mia and she was born on the 12th September 2015, she has a black fur, some brown and white spots and the tip of her tail is white; My mother loves Mia, I still remember when I came home after school and when I entered my home Mia ran towards me, she was so happy; Mia has a lot of toys, like six or seven, her favourite one’s are a doll and her recent birthday gift, a squiky fur ball; Mia is a great dog, I hope that she lives a great and happy life.

Persian Fallow Deer - conservation programme close to Babenhausen

Persian or Mesopotamian Fallow Deer were widespread in Northern Africa and near east during the last ice age. Today, the stag is one of the least known animals that almost died out around the 20th century. During an expedition of Georg von Opel to Iran in 1958 he took three animals to Kronberg to the Opel Zoo (60 km away from Babenhausen). In the wild the species was considered extinct. Through targeted breeding, there are currently 300 animals worldwide, including some in semi-wild keeping in their original homeland. Since 2013 the official studbook in run at Kronberg Zoo and so is the management of the breeding programme.

Nico

In summer the deer present a characteristic reddish colour. Picture: Joachim S.Müller, https://www.flickr.com/photos/joachim_s_mueller/3677129221, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0