Hüttenröder Grasedanz

A Tradition from the 19th Century

In the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Harz district, the Hüttenrode district of the town of Blankenburg preserves a custom dating back to the 19th century. Since 1885, the Grass Queen has been elected every year in Hüttenrode — a festival celebrating rural village life and haymaking. For three days, work stops, and Hüttenrode becomes the festival grounds.

Schedule of the Three Festival Days

On Friday evening, the women of the village tie garlands of oak leaves, berries, and flowers and decorate agricultural equipment for the parade. On Saturday, young men use horse-drawn carts to bring birch trees through the village and erect them, while a brass band plays and the women gather reeds and flowers by the Bode River. On Sunday at 10 a.m., the highlight begins: a parade with a flower-decorated hay basket, where the Grass Queen (chosen by lottery) and the Hay Princess (younger generation) in festive costume are led from their parents' homes to the festival grounds.

Hay Auction and Volksfest

After the parade, a hay auction takes place, the winner of which gets to dance with the Grass Queen — a charmingly antiquated form of traditional play. Accompanying events include a volleyball tournament, a medieval market, food stalls, and the "Hüttenröder Hexennacht" (Hüttenrode Witch Night) as an allusion to the Harz's Walpurgis Night mythology. The organizer is the Harzklub-Zweigverein Hüttenrode e.V.