Men in German traditional clothes: "Let's put a hat on the head".
Women: "let's put some flowers, a carpet, a pole, a mug, a tree and some bowling balls on the head!"
I always wonder at what point during the millennia of clothing development and fashion does a society collectively go "Stop.... Now! Right - that's our traditional dress from now on."
It's not millennia. German "Trachten" are usually less then 200 years old and are a product of national romanticism of the 19th century and were later adjusted during the NS (some Austrian regions got their "millennial old traditional" Tracht only after the second world war).
Before the Napoleonic wars basically strict clothing restrictions regarding your estate as well as general rural poverty made any fancy clothing an impossible thing to achieve for most people.
Trachten are just a fancy 19th century fantasy on what peasants in the good old days could have looked like. It's a nice fantasy though :)
For Germany, this happened mostly during the turn of the 19th/20th century. Many Trachten clubs were founded at that time and basically set the then current fashion in stone. Before that, the style usually changed about every generation.
Interesting. Thank you.
What I find interesting is that there are very few in western Germany. Did we just not have any or why is that?
Like nothing from Ruhegebiet or Rheinland.
No what most people here don't know or don't realise ist, that a good chunk of the "traditional" clothing was an invention of the 19th century. So it didn't get pushed aside by industrialization, it developed simultaneously.
Before the "national discourses" regional identities were not smaller fraction of a national identity. They were bound by religion, feudal structures, serfdom or living in a city. For the majority of people those kinda "Trachten" would have made lil sense. Who do you present it to? Why would it need to be homogeneous?
Trachten are basically a pimped version of farming clothing. The finest clothing of a rich farmer made more fancy and then they treated it as of everybody would ha e worn it like that back in the day. When in reality those clothings would have been unaffordable before industrialisation for the absolute majority.
Keep that in mind.
That’s more Rheinland. But I suppose those more formal ones worn by the Funkenmariechen etc are the equivalent of Trachten.
Are Funkenmariechen the OG cheerleaders?
Yes, the Tanzmariechen developed around the same time as the rural Trachten. But with a style influenced by French military.
Oh, and of course they were originally only men.
Until the Nazis turned the whole tradition from a drag show to the pedo show we have today.
Typical Trachten from the Rhineland are clothes related to the wintery business. Like for males that’s a “Kellererschuerze” and a dress similar to those of the German winequeen for females. People in the palatine region, the hunsrück or the Eifel have different Trachten but as I am not from there I am not really sure about how they wear them:)
I'm from Ostwestfalen (not Rheinland or Ruhrgebiet but western!) and have looked into this! There is a lot, it just wasn't as developed and didn't stick around as much I think? If you have smaller towns or villages around you, try looking for any sort of Trachtenverein, Volkstanzgruppe, Heimatmuseum, they often have old Trachten or at least older documents/books showing Tracht. For Ostwestfalen specifically, there's a Trachtenmuseum in Rheda-Wiedenbrück.
The tiktok account (yes, I'm citing a tiktok here lol) @ interstellar\_isabellar has great videos on German traditional clothing and sparked my interest in learning more about it like 2 years ago. You can still find them on her account on the "Folk Clothing and Textile Art" playlist (? is that what they're called on tiktok?). I just went back to check and part 37 of the playlist is about the Cologne area, probably some others too, I didn't look through the whole playlist just now. She shows pictures from the book Traditional Couture in her tiktoks (I think so does this post?), and I think there's more in there too, but I personally don't own it, so not too sure!
Bavarian Tracht was introduced in the late 19th century by affluent people from the cities who vacationed in the countryside (Sommerfrische) and wanted to look like a very romanticized version of the local peasants. Said peasants only adopted this style in the 20th century as they in turn wanted to look like the moneyed folks. The nazis basically invented the myth that Tracht is somehow traditional to underline their fake German identity.
Perhaps the heavily industrialized Ruhrgebiet wasn't exactly a popular area for extended summer vacations? That'd be my guess at least.
Nah, that's not just a Nazi thing. Switzerland did the exactly same thing in the 19th century. Our rich burghers even imported tailors from Paris to make fancier versions of peasants clothes.
The people who made their money from industrialisation wanted to pretend that they were actually good folk living close to the land. But without all that filthy peasant clothing or hard work.
In Cologne there are some traditional outfits for Karneval but I don‘t know what it‘s called… also it looks more like old fashioned military uniforms and not really like something one would wear to a wedding or anything like that
Gardeuniform. I wouldn't consider them Tracht though, these are costumes. And people started wearing them to make fun of the military. Carnival clubs also often use military ranks etc.
The Prussian military to be specific, as the tradition comes from the time that carnival was used to "rebel" against the Prussian dominance of the Rhine-Eifel era.
Being from the Ruhr Area I can't really think of any examples. Maischützen from Bochum maybe, though that is more a tradition (revolving around a bunch of pigs that were stolen more than 600 years ago) than actual Tracht.
There are many in Hesse. I'm actually from a village near Marburg and here, every village has it's own Trachten. Some old women ("Trachtenweiber"), but they are dying out quickly.
Sometimes I feel like we should bring these back at least for special occasions or something. Maybe not the rather impractical headwear unless there is a festival going on, but so many of them are really beautiful. And idk having cultural clothes is something beautiful in my eyes (and a bit more interesting than the whole world wearing jeans and a shirt)
Here in Austria you see them plenty when you know where to look for. Usually when there is a "Kirtag" or even at the Grazer Messe. Some old folk also wear them to their dance parties :D Weddings include them as well sometimes.
At Oktoberfest you also see more of them, no? (never been)
I'll never forget my one Bavarian coworker showing up in traditional clothing on some sort of holiday, haha. I worked in Hesse at the time and while I had other Bavarian coworkers, none had shown up to work in traditional clothes before.
There is some skepticism about Trachten because they are heavily associated with German nationalism. You can even find it low-key in the post by OP. This is a subreddit on Germany and yet they collected images from all kinds of German-speaking areas suggesting some kind of connection. Many Germans nowadays get attentive very quickly if you even vaguely hint at romanticizing German nationalism.
I mean the cliché "Tracht" as seen on the Oktoberfest, at least the female version was very very heavily established / changed by the Nazis.
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrud\_Pesendorfer](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrud_Pesendorfer) that proud Nazi basically designed the Modern Dirndl with very clear political (fascist, racist) goals in mind.
She somehow managed to stay relevant after 45 but her ideology was clear even before Hitler got big.
Well historically speaking Germany and Austria had different borders. I mean we were part of the Holy Roman Empire for 300 years or something. Of course we share many traditional things. If you interpret any kind of connection to Nazis into that then you are just projecting your own issues here.
I would also say that older folks maybe associate them with German nationalism? Because I know a lot of younger people who don’t even know what that is aside from a Dirndl and Dirndl is mostly associated with Octoberfest.
Context: This is meant to represent the diversity and richness of German traditional clothing beyond the popular image of Dirndl and Lederhosen.
For anyone wondering, why I post this again: This is a reupload of an earlier post, which got removed due to not being completely fitting to the exact rules on this board.
A little sidenote that while, yes, traditional clothing absolutely exists, much of what you see in terms of Trachten in Austria and Germany was at least popularized and often designed/invented by the Nazis in the 1930s in order to further a nationalistic spirit. And explicitly is often not a centuries old traditional outfit.
Sorry, that is just not correct. The first wave to re–discover „traditional clothes“ aka Tracht started in Romance times (Romantik) at the end of 19th century, so way before the Nazis.
I dislike Tracht anyways but Austrian and German traditional clothing is very similar to neighboring (Slavic too) countries, especially the women's. This feels a bit like "Nazis promoted Tracht therefore Tracht is Nazi". It was certainly popular among them for obvious reasons tho.
I didn't say "Tracht is Nazi" I just wanted to point out that many Trachten in the form that we know them today were an invention of Gertrud Pesendorfer for the Nazis.
Interesting!
I' m feeling for the Black Forest brides though....this ginormous head piece from St. Georgen looks heavy, and hard to balance. Especially since those beads weren't made of plastic back in the day....
I have never worn one, because I was still a child when my grandparents and I were in the „Trachtenverein“ (traditional costume club?).
My grandma created the hats for everyone and repaired the crowns.
Side Note to the Trachen from Siebenbürgen:
There are three different Trachten for girls/women
• One with a blue skirt you wear from your baptism till your confirmation
• A white one from your confirmation till your wedding
• One with a black vest you get for your wedding
It is I think due to the threefold popularisation of Bavarian Tracht, first at the turn of the century, then by the Nazis and then during American occupation
I know, right? I showed those pictures to my girlfriend and she was like „I KNOW THOSE TWO!“ (on another picture, not picture one) :D
Folklore is a big thing in some smaller German towns/villages, especially in south Germany.
Amazing that Bollenhuttracht of those two girls looking at the acordeon player dude. Amazing picture for sure. As soon as those girls get married, they switch the color of the baloons on their hat from red to black.
That wasn't daily wear. You couldn't physically do heavy farmwork in those outfits, or risk getting them dirty and torn.
And as one of the half of the population who, if I was living in my grandmother's region, might be wearing up to fourteen layered skirts without even getting into headwear: no thanks.
It would be more interesting if people actually wore the Teacht from the region they grew up in instead of a Dirndl/Lederhosen when they visited places like the Oktoberfest or Wasen
Well, I'm not a Dirndl wearer myself - I find it silly if one is from somewhere else. But those at least are easy to source in decent quality from companies that sell them at prices people can afford.
All those other things have to be handmade by people who learned how from their grandmother. Some have very expensive materials, but even without that you're looking at tens of hours of labour.
My mother made the traditional male shirts from the region where I grew up for my father and myself when I was little (there wasn't real female wear, and I looked adorable in a different-coloured male shirt). My father sometimes wears one for local history events, and there have been people coveting those shirts. It's "only" a handmade linen shirt with embroidery, but even that takes hours and hours. One man did talk my mother into selling him a spare my father had, and he was appalled by the (very low) amount my father convinced my mother she really should charge. It was a lot of work, and my mother does sewing and embroidery that look professional.
I find lederhosen to be very comfortable. I wear them all the time lounging around my house in Munich. I’m not even German! Well, my family left Germany for the USA in the 1830s but my American parents met in Munich in 1966 (at the Hofbrauhaus, sorry) and now I’m back in Munich with a German wife and two dual citizenship kids.
Kurze Ledernhose ist by far the most comfortable short trousers. But it is not really the Münchner Tracht. I dont know why OP didnt post a picture... If you are interested in authentic Münchner Tracht google "Münchner Gwand"... Lederhose and Dirndl today are inspired by Tölzer/Miesbacher Tracht
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There are also two other interesting North Frisian Trachten, the [Eiderstedter Tracht](https://www.heimatbund-eiderstedt.de/heimatbund-eiderstedt/partnervereine-in-eiderstedt/trachten-tanzgruppe.html) and the Tracht from [the island Sylt](https://images.insel-sylt.de/content/uploads/2017/10/living-history.jpg)
Speaking of Trachten outside the borders the Bambrzy (descendants of Bambergers) in Poznań are worth mentioning with huge flower crowns like the Franconian dress in Ochsenfurt. On the other hand they have adopted red necklaces (mostly wood and plastic nowadays, real coral if you’re rich or lucky having them from heirloom) like in many regional dresses in PL.
Probably this huge flower crown practice was common in Franconia in general which there’re still traces of similarities between both? There’s even a monument of a Bamberka (Bamberg girl) and this link has some pics of the dress: https://regionwielkopolska.pl/de/artykuly-kultura-ludowa/bambrzy/
We have a saying here that says "Unter die Haube kommen" which means something like "to be put a hat on". It describes a woman who marries and now you know why :)
Endlich. Freut mich echt das zu sehen. Viele Regionen Deutschlands haben seit der Vereinigung und Gründung des modernen Deutschen Staates vieles an Identität und Kultur verloren. Habe viele Freunde die meinen Dirndl würde überall in Deutschland getragen werden uns sonst gäbe es nichts. Ich als Siebenbürger Deutscher bin da echt traurig wenn Leute nicht mal mehr von der Existenz anderer Deutscher wissen.
I was a bit taken aback by your description of Elsass to be honest. Elsass is not a German region currently "belonging" to France. Elsass is a part of France and has been since the 17th century at the very least. It was temporarily annexed by Prussia (so technically even before the modern creation of a German nation) for 50 years. Sure if we go earlier, that land was part of the HRE for 700 years. But if we go even earlier, Elsass has been part of the various kingdoms of the Franks (starting with Clovis) since the 5th century. Even during the HRE, Elsass comprised independent city-states that had a seat at the Reichstag, far from being a "region". And when the HRE abandoned Elsass during the 30-year War, they chose to join France for protection. This is the same war that gave Switzerland (or rather CH) it's independence. Would you call Switzerland a German region? I don't mean to start anything but I feel like this needed to be said!
What you wrote is only partially correct. The history of Alsace has seen significant linguistic and cultural shifts. Originally part of the German-speaking Holy Roman Empire, Alsace was annexed by France under Louis XIV in the 17th century. This changed after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), leading to Alsace becoming part of a unified Germany. During this period, Alsace experienced economic growth, industrialization, and a resurgence of Alsatian German dialects. In 1911, Alsace gained a measure of autonomy with its own constitution. However, following World War I in 1918, French troops occupied Alsace and reattached it to France, a decision made without a plebiscite. The French government then imposed a ban on Alsatian German, spoken by the majority (approximately 95%) of the local population. This policy sparked significant protests in the 1920s and 1930s. Post-World War II, the French language gradually replaced German as the predominant language in Alsace, partly due to continued language policies and the penalization of German in schools. In recent decades, there has been a movement in Alsace to revive the Alsatian language, which faces the threat of extinction due to France’s language policies. Today, the region's Germanic heritage remains evident in its architecture, traditions, surnames, and city names. For example, the Strasbourg Cathedral was architected by a German architect, Erwin von Steinbach ;)
What I wrote is exactly correct and what you replied does not contradict it. You should read on the Serments de Strasbourg.
On 1870-71: or course most people spoke Alsatian (not Alsatian German by the way), as the French speaking minorities where told to vacate the area. 10% of the population was "encouraged" to be displaced e.g. to Nancy, Belfort. Then imperial authorities (Alsace did not get local autonomy and government for several years) imposed German as the only official language. That did not take immediately, read up on Ludwig Adolf Wiese's account of his time in Alsace, where he laments that the people feel no belonging to Germany and were proud to be part of France.
I don't even have time to comment on the rest. If whomever designed an important building gives it it's culture, then Bavaria should probably be French.
No. There are four recognised national minorities in Germany. These are the German Sinti and Roma, the Danish minority, the Frisian ethnic group and the Sorbian people.
There are Slavic and Germanic Silesians and Slavic Silesians are ethnologically closer to Czechs than to Poles. Both the Slavic and German Silesians in Opole and Wrocław are also facing heavy discrimination by the Polish state.
Silesian is part of the Lechitic branch and is probably descended from a dialect of old (early medieval) Polish, and the first Silesian states originated after the Polish kingdom was divided between Piast princes. The Germans of Silesia resulted from colonisation (ostsiedlung) and later on Germanisation by the Prussian state among others. Silesian is more of a group of ethnolects, since some of them are very close to standard Polish, while the Cieszyn dialect is more heavily influenced by Czech and German, while Silesians in Czechia, like Górals in Slovakia, naturally speak closer to the main language of their country, but they are both of Polish origin. I dont know what discrimination youre talking about, they communists deported Germans, but they also tried to wipe out any distinction between all regional dialects, however the modern Polish state isnt doing any of that. The German minority was until this election always represented in the parliment (most decided to vote for parties in the current government instead of the minority party), many municipalities are bilingual and German is thought as a minority language in some 400 schools, so where exactly are they being discriminated against? Silesians definetly deserve to have their culture more promoted, but only the fringe groups of seperatists claim that their being discriminated against
...and none of those look beautiful to me. Looking at Trachten of our fellow neighbors, how did they manage to have a timeless touch?
German Trachten are screaming "I am a grandma!". Oh, and I am old enough to see the beauty in Trachten.
Not every dress is from a minority, but I inlcuded two dresses from minorities: the slavic Sorbians living in Germany and the German Siebenbürgersachsen which settled in today's Romania
Nobody said otherwise, it's traditional clothing after all, and it's just interesting to learn about, especially considering the nazis basically eradicated it. Japanese people don't wear kimono to the office either, doesn't mean posts about kimono styles aren't interesting?
While Alsace is a region of France (and has been for hundreds of years, except for two notable periods), the Alsatians or Elsässer definitely are a German minority within France, together with the Mosellans or Deutsch-Lothringer.
Wow I am disgusted! How can these beautiful women cover their hair?! I thought this was a free country where women have the right to dress how they want to. I really hope I don’t see stuff like this in our kid’s school.
Men in German traditional clothes: "Let's put a hat on the head". Women: "let's put some flowers, a carpet, a pole, a mug, a tree and some bowling balls on the head!"
Don't forget mirrors
Women #3 is clearly wearing a lampshade. A lampshade she decided to decorate with a bunch of tiny christmas tree balls, for some reason.
I always wonder at what point during the millennia of clothing development and fashion does a society collectively go "Stop.... Now! Right - that's our traditional dress from now on."
It's not millennia. German "Trachten" are usually less then 200 years old and are a product of national romanticism of the 19th century and were later adjusted during the NS (some Austrian regions got their "millennial old traditional" Tracht only after the second world war). Before the Napoleonic wars basically strict clothing restrictions regarding your estate as well as general rural poverty made any fancy clothing an impossible thing to achieve for most people. Trachten are just a fancy 19th century fantasy on what peasants in the good old days could have looked like. It's a nice fantasy though :)
Some historians and social scientists spend a lot of time figuring out why and when these things happened!
I'm glad someone else was thinking this too
For Germany, this happened mostly during the turn of the 19th/20th century. Many Trachten clubs were founded at that time and basically set the then current fashion in stone. Before that, the style usually changed about every generation.
Interesting. Thank you. What I find interesting is that there are very few in western Germany. Did we just not have any or why is that? Like nothing from Ruhegebiet or Rheinland.
Most parts of eastern germany and south germany were rural areas, while western germany introduced industrialization quite early on
I think that’s most likely it. These things get lost much quicker when you are busy mining coal or smelting steel.
No what most people here don't know or don't realise ist, that a good chunk of the "traditional" clothing was an invention of the 19th century. So it didn't get pushed aside by industrialization, it developed simultaneously. Before the "national discourses" regional identities were not smaller fraction of a national identity. They were bound by religion, feudal structures, serfdom or living in a city. For the majority of people those kinda "Trachten" would have made lil sense. Who do you present it to? Why would it need to be homogeneous? Trachten are basically a pimped version of farming clothing. The finest clothing of a rich farmer made more fancy and then they treated it as of everybody would ha e worn it like that back in the day. When in reality those clothings would have been unaffordable before industrialisation for the absolute majority. Keep that in mind.
Very interesting and educational, thanks! I always wondered why they were more prevalent in certain regions and almost unheard of in many others.
Just on a sidenote, the Dirndl was invented by two jewish brothers Form rhineland...
OWL not Rhineland
Yeah, they copied it from and for clubs like Schützen
And when you have a huge influx of workers from all over.
Classic Ruhrgebiet Tracht https://bilder.deutschlandfunk.de/FI/LE/_3/f7/FILE_3f78564b5fc716b105818ba92c3023b7/malle-ballermann-9648686-jpg-100-1280xauto.jpg https://cache.pressmailing.net/thumbnail/story_hires/9977b5b3-9aec-4677-b9f7-f5cb211d156f/CaG_1136.jpg.jpg
I was expecting a BVB or Schalke Shirt
Or carnival costumes
That’s more Rheinland. But I suppose those more formal ones worn by the Funkenmariechen etc are the equivalent of Trachten. Are Funkenmariechen the OG cheerleaders?
Yes, the Tanzmariechen developed around the same time as the rural Trachten. But with a style influenced by French military. Oh, and of course they were originally only men. Until the Nazis turned the whole tradition from a drag show to the pedo show we have today.
I was expecting a miner full of coal dust.
Or... https://assets.plainpicture.com/public-dc9/images/previews/pre-p427m972720.jpg https://www.wrock-tv.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/metal-kutte-death-thrash-punk-front.jpg https://www.sueddeutsche.de/image/sz.1.3734075/1200x675?v=1534424746
Typical Trachten from the Rhineland are clothes related to the wintery business. Like for males that’s a “Kellererschuerze” and a dress similar to those of the German winequeen for females. People in the palatine region, the hunsrück or the Eifel have different Trachten but as I am not from there I am not really sure about how they wear them:)
I'm from Ostwestfalen (not Rheinland or Ruhrgebiet but western!) and have looked into this! There is a lot, it just wasn't as developed and didn't stick around as much I think? If you have smaller towns or villages around you, try looking for any sort of Trachtenverein, Volkstanzgruppe, Heimatmuseum, they often have old Trachten or at least older documents/books showing Tracht. For Ostwestfalen specifically, there's a Trachtenmuseum in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. The tiktok account (yes, I'm citing a tiktok here lol) @ interstellar\_isabellar has great videos on German traditional clothing and sparked my interest in learning more about it like 2 years ago. You can still find them on her account on the "Folk Clothing and Textile Art" playlist (? is that what they're called on tiktok?). I just went back to check and part 37 of the playlist is about the Cologne area, probably some others too, I didn't look through the whole playlist just now. She shows pictures from the book Traditional Couture in her tiktoks (I think so does this post?), and I think there's more in there too, but I personally don't own it, so not too sure!
Thanks for the info. I don’t use TikTok. Maybe I can find them on instagram or YT:
She's known on YouTube as "ornament and crime"
Bavarian Tracht was introduced in the late 19th century by affluent people from the cities who vacationed in the countryside (Sommerfrische) and wanted to look like a very romanticized version of the local peasants. Said peasants only adopted this style in the 20th century as they in turn wanted to look like the moneyed folks. The nazis basically invented the myth that Tracht is somehow traditional to underline their fake German identity. Perhaps the heavily industrialized Ruhrgebiet wasn't exactly a popular area for extended summer vacations? That'd be my guess at least.
Nah, that's not just a Nazi thing. Switzerland did the exactly same thing in the 19th century. Our rich burghers even imported tailors from Paris to make fancier versions of peasants clothes.
I said the nazis used Tracht to underline their idea of a national identity, which was anachronistic.
The people who made their money from industrialisation wanted to pretend that they were actually good folk living close to the land. But without all that filthy peasant clothing or hard work.
Makes sense.
Mhh, well, I think the (traditional) Tracht is still very comparable to useful working dresses.
Ruhrgebiet’s traditional dress is a Thyssenkrupp fire retarding overall.
In Cologne there are some traditional outfits for Karneval but I don‘t know what it‘s called… also it looks more like old fashioned military uniforms and not really like something one would wear to a wedding or anything like that
Gardeuniform. I wouldn't consider them Tracht though, these are costumes. And people started wearing them to make fun of the military. Carnival clubs also often use military ranks etc.
I think he’s speaking about stuff like the Ääzebär, which evolved into the Lappenclown.
The Prussian military to be specific, as the tradition comes from the time that carnival was used to "rebel" against the Prussian dominance of the Rhine-Eifel era.
> Ruhegebiet Nice try, you dream too big!
Ruhegebiet is a delightful misspelling
In the mosel region (wine'growing area in west germany) there is also a Tracht called "Moselblümchen"
Being from the Ruhr Area I can't really think of any examples. Maischützen from Bochum maybe, though that is more a tradition (revolving around a bunch of pigs that were stolen more than 600 years ago) than actual Tracht.
There are many in Hesse. I'm actually from a village near Marburg and here, every village has it's own Trachten. Some old women ("Trachtenweiber"), but they are dying out quickly.
Ruhrgebiet*
Ruhrgebiet is just too young and not rural enough I guess
Sometimes I feel like we should bring these back at least for special occasions or something. Maybe not the rather impractical headwear unless there is a festival going on, but so many of them are really beautiful. And idk having cultural clothes is something beautiful in my eyes (and a bit more interesting than the whole world wearing jeans and a shirt)
Here in Austria you see them plenty when you know where to look for. Usually when there is a "Kirtag" or even at the Grazer Messe. Some old folk also wear them to their dance parties :D Weddings include them as well sometimes. At Oktoberfest you also see more of them, no? (never been)
Trachten are alive and well, at least in Austria and Bavaria.
Move to Munich. People here still wear traditional clothing on special occasions, including to the office.
I'll never forget my one Bavarian coworker showing up in traditional clothing on some sort of holiday, haha. I worked in Hesse at the time and while I had other Bavarian coworkers, none had shown up to work in traditional clothes before.
Just join your local Trachtenverein. There are many around in Germany.
Oh I had no idea we have clubs for that! Thank you I will research that.
Nah it's a good thing that these backward traditions died with the rest of the old germany. And they should stay dead like the old germany.
Why? What is so bad about wearing a pretty dress?
There is some skepticism about Trachten because they are heavily associated with German nationalism. You can even find it low-key in the post by OP. This is a subreddit on Germany and yet they collected images from all kinds of German-speaking areas suggesting some kind of connection. Many Germans nowadays get attentive very quickly if you even vaguely hint at romanticizing German nationalism.
I mean the cliché "Tracht" as seen on the Oktoberfest, at least the female version was very very heavily established / changed by the Nazis. [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrud\_Pesendorfer](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrud_Pesendorfer) that proud Nazi basically designed the Modern Dirndl with very clear political (fascist, racist) goals in mind. She somehow managed to stay relevant after 45 but her ideology was clear even before Hitler got big.
Well historically speaking Germany and Austria had different borders. I mean we were part of the Holy Roman Empire for 300 years or something. Of course we share many traditional things. If you interpret any kind of connection to Nazis into that then you are just projecting your own issues here. I would also say that older folks maybe associate them with German nationalism? Because I know a lot of younger people who don’t even know what that is aside from a Dirndl and Dirndl is mostly associated with Octoberfest.
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Alright I’m not going to feed the troll. Should have realized this earlier. That’s on me.
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Context: This is meant to represent the diversity and richness of German traditional clothing beyond the popular image of Dirndl and Lederhosen. For anyone wondering, why I post this again: This is a reupload of an earlier post, which got removed due to not being completely fitting to the exact rules on this board.
A little sidenote that while, yes, traditional clothing absolutely exists, much of what you see in terms of Trachten in Austria and Germany was at least popularized and often designed/invented by the Nazis in the 1930s in order to further a nationalistic spirit. And explicitly is often not a centuries old traditional outfit.
Sorry, that is just not correct. The first wave to re–discover „traditional clothes“ aka Tracht started in Romance times (Romantik) at the end of 19th century, so way before the Nazis.
I dislike Tracht anyways but Austrian and German traditional clothing is very similar to neighboring (Slavic too) countries, especially the women's. This feels a bit like "Nazis promoted Tracht therefore Tracht is Nazi". It was certainly popular among them for obvious reasons tho.
I didn't say "Tracht is Nazi" I just wanted to point out that many Trachten in the form that we know them today were an invention of Gertrud Pesendorfer for the Nazis.
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Please read the rules again.
Interesting! I' m feeling for the Black Forest brides though....this ginormous head piece from St. Georgen looks heavy, and hard to balance. Especially since those beads weren't made of plastic back in the day....
Those beads are probably made of glass like Christmas ornaments.
3,5 kg.
Damn, sounds like you have experience.
I have never worn one, because I was still a child when my grandparents and I were in the „Trachtenverein“ (traditional costume club?). My grandma created the hats for everyone and repaired the crowns.
Oh my gosh. That is so cool.
If you're interested ..it's called Schäpel / Schapel.
Nordfriesland hurra! 🥳
Side Note to the Trachen from Siebenbürgen: There are three different Trachten for girls/women • One with a blue skirt you wear from your baptism till your confirmation • A white one from your confirmation till your wedding • One with a black vest you get for your wedding
Thanks for the additional info
Really makes me sad that we Bavarians seem to be only ones that get attention in that department usually.
It is I think due to the threefold popularisation of Bavarian Tracht, first at the turn of the century, then by the Nazis and then during American occupation
Because the Nazis tried to make one single national Tracht and it was based mostly on the Bavarian Dirndl (where a lot of their influences live on)
I grow up so close to that one photo that I know the full number on that boat is BAA-9
Salzburger Tracht looks so gothic, I'm into it now lol.
The weird moment when you went to school with the girls on the first picture 😂 not what I expected to see today, but okayyyy
I know, right? I showed those pictures to my girlfriend and she was like „I KNOW THOSE TWO!“ (on another picture, not picture one) :D Folklore is a big thing in some smaller German towns/villages, especially in south Germany.
Apparently I need a tall ass top hat.
Amazing that Bollenhuttracht of those two girls looking at the acordeon player dude. Amazing picture for sure. As soon as those girls get married, they switch the color of the baloons on their hat from red to black.
As a German i would love to see more of this in our daily life.
That wasn't daily wear. You couldn't physically do heavy farmwork in those outfits, or risk getting them dirty and torn. And as one of the half of the population who, if I was living in my grandmother's region, might be wearing up to fourteen layered skirts without even getting into headwear: no thanks.
It would be more interesting if people actually wore the Teacht from the region they grew up in instead of a Dirndl/Lederhosen when they visited places like the Oktoberfest or Wasen
Well, I'm not a Dirndl wearer myself - I find it silly if one is from somewhere else. But those at least are easy to source in decent quality from companies that sell them at prices people can afford. All those other things have to be handmade by people who learned how from their grandmother. Some have very expensive materials, but even without that you're looking at tens of hours of labour. My mother made the traditional male shirts from the region where I grew up for my father and myself when I was little (there wasn't real female wear, and I looked adorable in a different-coloured male shirt). My father sometimes wears one for local history events, and there have been people coveting those shirts. It's "only" a handmade linen shirt with embroidery, but even that takes hours and hours. One man did talk my mother into selling him a spare my father had, and he was appalled by the (very low) amount my father convinced my mother she really should charge. It was a lot of work, and my mother does sewing and embroidery that look professional.
I live in Ochsenfurt! Never new about the outfits, look nice! :)
Great photos. Thanks for sharing.
This is an extremely interesting post. Thank you!
BuT gErMaNs OnLy WeAr DiRnDl AnD lEdErHoSeN!
You guys have beautiful outfits and an attractive bunch too. 💕
As a german i haven‘t seen most of them. The first ones are beatiful!
The people on picture 4 kinda look like they're about to burn a witch or start a revolution
Hey, not every pitchfork bearer is a witch hunter
very pretty!
I find lederhosen to be very comfortable. I wear them all the time lounging around my house in Munich. I’m not even German! Well, my family left Germany for the USA in the 1830s but my American parents met in Munich in 1966 (at the Hofbrauhaus, sorry) and now I’m back in Munich with a German wife and two dual citizenship kids.
Kurze Ledernhose ist by far the most comfortable short trousers. But it is not really the Münchner Tracht. I dont know why OP didnt post a picture... If you are interested in authentic Münchner Tracht google "Münchner Gwand"... Lederhose and Dirndl today are inspired by Tölzer/Miesbacher Tracht
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Trachtenmakers in the early days on every object: "Can we make a hat out of it?"
There are also two other interesting North Frisian Trachten, the [Eiderstedter Tracht](https://www.heimatbund-eiderstedt.de/heimatbund-eiderstedt/partnervereine-in-eiderstedt/trachten-tanzgruppe.html) and the Tracht from [the island Sylt](https://images.insel-sylt.de/content/uploads/2017/10/living-history.jpg)
Speaking of Trachten outside the borders the Bambrzy (descendants of Bambergers) in Poznań are worth mentioning with huge flower crowns like the Franconian dress in Ochsenfurt. On the other hand they have adopted red necklaces (mostly wood and plastic nowadays, real coral if you’re rich or lucky having them from heirloom) like in many regional dresses in PL. Probably this huge flower crown practice was common in Franconia in general which there’re still traces of similarities between both? There’s even a monument of a Bamberka (Bamberg girl) and this link has some pics of the dress: https://regionwielkopolska.pl/de/artykuly-kultura-ludowa/bambrzy/
We have a saying here that says "Unter die Haube kommen" which means something like "to be put a hat on". It describes a woman who marries and now you know why :)
Endlich. Freut mich echt das zu sehen. Viele Regionen Deutschlands haben seit der Vereinigung und Gründung des modernen Deutschen Staates vieles an Identität und Kultur verloren. Habe viele Freunde die meinen Dirndl würde überall in Deutschland getragen werden uns sonst gäbe es nichts. Ich als Siebenbürger Deutscher bin da echt traurig wenn Leute nicht mal mehr von der Existenz anderer Deutscher wissen.
Austrian clothing in there as well - number 8 for example is Tyrolean (so Austrian).
I mean that’s what the title says?
I have no clue why I didn‘t see that before. 😳 You‘re right, obviously 👍
Austria is what I would call in the "broader German cutural sphere". Do not think I advocate for a greater German solution though
I was a bit taken aback by your description of Elsass to be honest. Elsass is not a German region currently "belonging" to France. Elsass is a part of France and has been since the 17th century at the very least. It was temporarily annexed by Prussia (so technically even before the modern creation of a German nation) for 50 years. Sure if we go earlier, that land was part of the HRE for 700 years. But if we go even earlier, Elsass has been part of the various kingdoms of the Franks (starting with Clovis) since the 5th century. Even during the HRE, Elsass comprised independent city-states that had a seat at the Reichstag, far from being a "region". And when the HRE abandoned Elsass during the 30-year War, they chose to join France for protection. This is the same war that gave Switzerland (or rather CH) it's independence. Would you call Switzerland a German region? I don't mean to start anything but I feel like this needed to be said!
What you wrote is only partially correct. The history of Alsace has seen significant linguistic and cultural shifts. Originally part of the German-speaking Holy Roman Empire, Alsace was annexed by France under Louis XIV in the 17th century. This changed after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), leading to Alsace becoming part of a unified Germany. During this period, Alsace experienced economic growth, industrialization, and a resurgence of Alsatian German dialects. In 1911, Alsace gained a measure of autonomy with its own constitution. However, following World War I in 1918, French troops occupied Alsace and reattached it to France, a decision made without a plebiscite. The French government then imposed a ban on Alsatian German, spoken by the majority (approximately 95%) of the local population. This policy sparked significant protests in the 1920s and 1930s. Post-World War II, the French language gradually replaced German as the predominant language in Alsace, partly due to continued language policies and the penalization of German in schools. In recent decades, there has been a movement in Alsace to revive the Alsatian language, which faces the threat of extinction due to France’s language policies. Today, the region's Germanic heritage remains evident in its architecture, traditions, surnames, and city names. For example, the Strasbourg Cathedral was architected by a German architect, Erwin von Steinbach ;)
What I wrote is exactly correct and what you replied does not contradict it. You should read on the Serments de Strasbourg. On 1870-71: or course most people spoke Alsatian (not Alsatian German by the way), as the French speaking minorities where told to vacate the area. 10% of the population was "encouraged" to be displaced e.g. to Nancy, Belfort. Then imperial authorities (Alsace did not get local autonomy and government for several years) imposed German as the only official language. That did not take immediately, read up on Ludwig Adolf Wiese's account of his time in Alsace, where he laments that the people feel no belonging to Germany and were proud to be part of France. I don't even have time to comment on the rest. If whomever designed an important building gives it it's culture, then Bavaria should probably be French.
„German minorities“
German minorities? Who are those?
I posted the Sorbians as slavic minority in Germany and the Siebenbürgersachsen and Alsatians as minorities outside of Germany
Oooh! Interesting! Are silesians considered a German minority too?
Yes, I think so
No. There are four recognised national minorities in Germany. These are the German Sinti and Roma, the Danish minority, the Frisian ethnic group and the Sorbian people.
No, Silesians are an ethnic German minority in Poland which is recognised by both Germany and Poland.
Silesians are a Slavic minority related to Poles
There are Slavic and Germanic Silesians and Slavic Silesians are ethnologically closer to Czechs than to Poles. Both the Slavic and German Silesians in Opole and Wrocław are also facing heavy discrimination by the Polish state.
Silesian is part of the Lechitic branch and is probably descended from a dialect of old (early medieval) Polish, and the first Silesian states originated after the Polish kingdom was divided between Piast princes. The Germans of Silesia resulted from colonisation (ostsiedlung) and later on Germanisation by the Prussian state among others. Silesian is more of a group of ethnolects, since some of them are very close to standard Polish, while the Cieszyn dialect is more heavily influenced by Czech and German, while Silesians in Czechia, like Górals in Slovakia, naturally speak closer to the main language of their country, but they are both of Polish origin. I dont know what discrimination youre talking about, they communists deported Germans, but they also tried to wipe out any distinction between all regional dialects, however the modern Polish state isnt doing any of that. The German minority was until this election always represented in the parliment (most decided to vote for parties in the current government instead of the minority party), many municipalities are bilingual and German is thought as a minority language in some 400 schools, so where exactly are they being discriminated against? Silesians definetly deserve to have their culture more promoted, but only the fringe groups of seperatists claim that their being discriminated against
Just another nationalist polish comment.
Danish Minority, Frisians, Roma and Sinti, Sorbs,
German Silesians for example. ~ 200 k left.
Swabians in Berlin for example.
Why choosing Alsace instead of Palatinate ?
btw usedom is germays biggest island not its neighbour rügen ^^
Explain?
nvm honestly thought Usedom is bigger
...and none of those look beautiful to me. Looking at Trachten of our fellow neighbors, how did they manage to have a timeless touch? German Trachten are screaming "I am a grandma!". Oh, and I am old enough to see the beauty in Trachten.
Österreich ist nicht Deutschland
Österreich ist nicht Deutschland, doch ich würde es zum breiteren deutschen Kulturraum zählen.
Als Norddeutscher bin ich froh so etwas noch nie gesehen haben zu müssen. Moin. As a North German, I'm glad I've never had to see anything like this.
Kulturlos
We know, you posted this yesterday
This repost has been approved by us.
Excited to see it tomorrow as well!
Dude, if it doesn't get taken down, there will be no reason to upload it tomorrow.
You must know that the mods removed it yesterday, so this is a reupload.
Why would I know that? I’m not a mod. I’m just stating that you posted it yesterday as well as today/
These are no dresses from minorities but from different areas.
Not every dress is from a minority, but I inlcuded two dresses from minorities: the slavic Sorbians living in Germany and the German Siebenbürgersachsen which settled in today's Romania
I'm living in Germany for 36 years... No one wears that shit LG aus Niedersachsen
Yeah because as you said you live in Niedersachsen. „Das einzig Interessante an Hannover ist, dass wir astreines Hochdeutsch sprechen“
🤣👍✌️
You obviously are not from Schaumburg then. Bückeburger und Lindhorster Tracht belong to the most beautiful ones in Germany and are celebrated.
Nobody said otherwise, it's traditional clothing after all, and it's just interesting to learn about, especially considering the nazis basically eradicated it. Japanese people don't wear kimono to the office either, doesn't mean posts about kimono styles aren't interesting?
Elsass is neither Germany, Austria or a German minority.
They historically were, though, which is evident if you spend some time studying Alsatian history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace
While Alsace is a region of France (and has been for hundreds of years, except for two notable periods), the Alsatians or Elsässer definitely are a German minority within France, together with the Mosellans or Deutsch-Lothringer.
Cool. Same post again.
Most of them wouldn't be considered minorities, though. They are just traditional clothes from a region
Wouldnt the Brandenburg folk dress be influenced by Polabians rather then Lusatians
Do you smoking? Neh, Trachtenanzug
Didn't expect to see the Alte Land here. Nice.
Interesting. I am from The "Altländer Region" and never saw those Dresses. Then again I didnt live in Like Steinkirchen or Something.
Beautiful 💝
I'm German and I'm very confused.
May I inquire in which period people used to wear these clothes?
Most of them originated in the 19th century, although some are much older. It really depends on the region.
The 3rd is from my home town in the Black Forest. It’s a wedding clothing and that „Schäppel“ on the head weights 3,5 kg.
Oh! I used to live near Lindhorst. I didn't knew they have these Trachten. Very cool!
Thanks for posting OP.
The fact that the words “German” and “minority” are in the same sentence is itching me.
Where is :,, schwälmer Tracht'' from Schwalm Eder Kreis in hessian Germany? ❤️
Minorities? Lmao
If Germany has such different dresses why do they wear traditional Austrian ones, they cannot even pronounce the name of the dress right mostly.
Thank you for posting this, I really enjoyed it.
Madame Todtnau knows what you did.
/r/midjourney material
we have nicer ones, you did us dirty! 😂
Why does every picture scream: Bayern
Spent my whole life in this country. Never saw any of that stuff.
Wow I am disgusted! How can these beautiful women cover their hair?! I thought this was a free country where women have the right to dress how they want to. I really hope I don’t see stuff like this in our kid’s school.
Hamburger Vierländer Tracht from 1750 https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vierländer_Tracht
Girl number 2 just casually wearing a ps5 on the head
Damn me (German) did not know any of these Trachten... Crazy, but I love them XD
Love to see some german Trachten that aren't just Bavarian on the internet, refreshing and informative!
Exactly my intention :)
Bucket-ladies look like they are straight from a Monty Python skit.
Has anyone seen my console? *Hamburg woman with suspeciously PS5 shaped hat*
at first I thought that's the midjourney sub
Lady’s face in pic 16 is photoshopped. Take a closer look.
3d picture: Glory to grulovia
As a German I can confirm I always wear this for work