Prangstangen#
Prangstangen, up to 8-m-high, barked tree trunks decorated with flowers or wool (Pongau Region), which are carried by young, single men during processions on religious holidays in some places of the province of Salzburg: Corpus Christi (Bischofshofen, Huettau, Pfarrwerfen, Werfenweng, Muehlbach am Hochkoenig), Feast Day of St. John (Zederhaus), Feast Day of St. Peter and St. Paul (Muhr), Sunday of the Sacred Heart (1st Sunday in July, Werfenweng). The tradition of Prangstangen can also be found in Rohr im Gebirge, Lower Austria (Corpus Christi), where it was probably taken by woodcutters from Salzburg during the 17th century.
Literature#
G. Kapfhammer, Brauchtum in den Alpenlaendern, 1977; H. P. Fielhauer, Die Fronleichnamsstangen in Rohr im Gebirge, in: Jahrbuch fuer Landeskunde von Niederoesterreich 36, 1964.