Spaktekel in Dornach

On a gray Saturday on July we drove to Dornach to check out this open-air festival organized on an old castle ruins there. Dornach is a little village on the Baselland canton, just outside Basel city.

Old drawing of the castle Dornach

  

castle today (photo source: Rockets)

a real lousy photo of one of the stages

The festival is called Spaktekel Burgruinen-Fest and this was, as far as I could figure, the fifth time it was organized. From the outside the entrance looked pretty much the same as any other festival would, but inside it was somewhat different. It felt instantly like I had stepped through a timemachinen and landed somewhere in the Middle Ages. Or at least a live action role play of those times. Amongst the colorful tents there were fair maidens in their long gowns and knights in shiny armors scurrying about. ( The rest of the population was mostly Goths dressed in black with occasional "Muggle" here and there.

Mead (honeywine, which the hobbits also greatly enjoy) was being drunken out of horns and guys were competing in ax-throwing and archery. The whole area was lit only by candles and torches and there was also a fire-show late in the evening.

The bands performing at the festival were mostly somehow medieval or celtic tuned; lots of flutes, drums, bagpipes, vocals arranged to many layers like the Vikings used to do. For a sample check out Kel Amrun or Ilsah.

Flyer, photo by Verein Spaktekel

fuzzy atmospheric pic

This festival was a very nice and laid-back experience for me. And suitable for the whole family, so there was relatively lots of kids too. I also especially enjoyed the fact that it is not soooo commercial and merchandise-oriented, but more about just like-minded people hanging out and enjoying music. -And mead, of course. By, the Viking Blood was good, -red and strong, not too sweet. No wonder it's the bestseller of the manufacturer Imkerei.