!!!Unruhnächte

Unruhnaechte, "nights of unrest" (also 
"Bosheitsnaechte"/"nights of malice" or 
"Stoernaechte"/"nights of harassment") and corresponding 
activities were closely connected with the rural  Burschenschaften and 
their "Ruegerecht" ("right of reprimand" in case of 
dissipated life or careless husbandry). In these nights young men not 
only played pranks but also mischievous tricks on people; these 
traditional customs ranged from hiding or putting away agricultural 
implements, which turned up again on the village square, on trees or 
roofs, to making love affairs public by "marking" the route 
between the homes of the two lovers. The nights before May 1 (Lower 
Austria), Easter and Whitsun Sunday or Monday (Upper Austria, 
Salzburg, Styria) were most common. Today Unruhnaechte and related 
customs have all but died out.

!Literature
Oesterreichischer Volkskundeatlas, 3%%sup rd/%  
instalment, 1968.


%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Unruhnächte|class='wikipage austrian']
%%

[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]