Düsseldorf's Cartwheeler
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Düsseldorf's cartwheeler (''Radschläger'' in German) is the oldest tradition of
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
and became one of their famous
landmarks A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
. The symbol of the cartwheel is found on many souvenirs and various naming Düsseldorf again. This tradition was honoured in 1954 by the erection of a fountain, called Cartwheeler's Fountain, in Düsseldorf's '' Burgplatz''.


Origin of the legend and history

The origin of the custom cannot be pinned down to a single historic event, but several stories have appeared around it. The best known version is the
battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now the northernmost borough of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succession, fought for the possession ...
. Adolf VIII, Count of Berg, defeated the Archbishop of Cologne in this battle in 1288. As a result of the victory, Düsseldorf received city rights. According to the story, the custom stems from the population and especially the children running for joy and making cartwheels on the streets . Another narrative style is about a wedding procession, in which the wedding carriage's wheel broke. To ward off the impending disaster, a boy jumped into a coach, and held the wheel. Whether the wedding was that of
Jan Wellem Johann Wilhelm II, Elector Palatine (''"Jan Wellem"'' in Low German, English: ''"John William"''; 19 April 1658 – 8 June 1716) of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Elector Palatine (1690–1716), Duke of Neuburg (1690–1716), Duke of Jülich a ...
and
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (11 August 1667 – 18 February 1743) was an Italian noblewoman who was the last lineal descendant of the main branch of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medicis' large art collection, in ...
or to the wedding of the Margravine
Jakobea of Baden Princess Jakobea of Baden (16 January 1558 – 3 September 1597 in Düsseldorf, buried in the St. Lambert Church in Düsseldorf) was daughter of the Margrave Philibert of Baden-Baden and Mechthild of Bavaria. Life Jakobea of Baden-Baden bec ...
with Johann Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, is controversial. A further modification takes on these second wedding. The bride is supposed to have been very unhappy with her marriage, but the cartwheelers and their coach's skills would have made her laugh. Late 19th century and early 20th century, many travelers came to the city for major exhibitions -the forerunners of today's fairs. The children discovered that cartwheels was a lucrative source of income, as the incoming bourgeois paid them up to a penny for what they thought was a "local and patriotic" symbol. In 1945, after the war-evacuated Jan-Wellem monument was brought back to the city, not only torches and fanfare accompanied it, but also cartwheeling boys.


Cartwheels in Düsseldorf's cityscape

Cartwheelers are found in several
fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
in the city. The best known is ''Radschlägerbrunnen ''(Cartwheeler Fountain) in the Burgplatz, created in 1954 by Alfred Zschorsch, with Hans Müller-Schlösser's inscription "''Radschläger wolle mer blieve, wie jeck et de Minschen och drieve''" ("We want to keep being cartwheelers, no matter how crazy the world might be"). Even street maintenance hole covers and
door knockers A door knocker is an item of door furniture that allows people outside a house or other dwelling or building to alert those inside to their presence. A door knocker has a part fixed to the door, and a part (usually metal) which is attached to ...
of Saint Lambertus Church, designed by Friedrich Becker, who also created the cartwheelers in front of the Düsseldorf's shopping mall Schadow-Arkaden. The tradition is notably kept alive by the Alde Düsseldorf civil society of 1920, who conducted the first cartwheeler competition on 17 October 1937. Since 1971, it was held annually by boys and girls in June on the Königsallee, and since 2006 on the Rheinwerft below the old town and has become an integral part in the Düsseldorf event program. More than 500 boys and girls participate each year. In 2001, the project ''Radschläger-Kunst'' (Cartwheeler-Art) started, consisting in the creation of over 100 cartwheeler sculptures by professional and amateur artists. The sculptures, which used Saint Lambertus Church door knockers as a starting model, are two meters high and wide and have a depth of 30 centimeters. They were distributed in the urban area and only a part was purchased at the end of the year from private individuals or companies. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dusseldorf's cartwheeler German folklore German legends June observances Düsseldorf