Leopoldi 15. November#
Leopoldi (Nov. 15): Feast day of Saint Leopold (Margrave Leopold III of Austria, d. 1136 in Klosterneuburg) is a public holiday in Lower Austria, Upper Austria, traditionally celebrated with numerous L. celebrations and markets. The L. market in Klosterneuburg (Fair) with its traditional "Fasslrutschn" (sliding over a huge barrel in the monastery wine cellar) dating back to 1704 is especially well-known; the barrel is called the 1000-bucket barrel but in fact holds only 56,000 litres; originally it held the wine the monastery received as a tithe.
"Fasslrutschen" was first mentioned in 1814. Until 1985 (500th
anniversary of the beatification of Leopold) it was common for silver,
sometimes even gold, coins (called L. Pfennige) to be minted. On L's
day there are also two large pilgrimages to the monastery church in
Klosterneuburg (since 1905, a men's pilgrimage in the presence of
Catholic and political celebrities, with about 12,000 participants,
and since 1979 a pilgrimage for altar boys with about 2,000
participants). There is also a Leopoldi wine-tasting and a pottery
market a few days later ( offering all kinds of household articles)
and the L. Dance (folk dance festival) one or two weeks before.