Kirchweih SV Holzkirchen (Wechingen)

Kirchweih in Holzkirchen — when the village celebrates the sports club

In the rural corners of Swabia, the Kerwa has a dual function: it is the patronage festival of the parish and at the same time the annual club celebration, where the village community and the club come together for four days. This is also the case in Holzkirchen, a district of Wechingen in the Nördlinger Ries.

Wechingen and Holzkirchen — Ries idyll in the Donau-Ries district

Wechingen is located in the Donau-Ries district in the state of Bavaria, in the middle of the Nördlinger Ries — the circular depression of volcanic origin that is now a UNESCO Global Geopark Ries. The municipality consists of three districts: Wechingen, Fessenheim, and Holzkirchen. SV Holzkirchen is the club heart of the district and co-organizer of the annual Kirchweih, which takes place around the clubhouse and the village center.

Course of a typical Holzkirchen Kerwa

As everywhere in Bavarian-Swabia, the Kirchweih follows a fixed choreography:

• Friday — Festival opening with beer tapping and dance evening
• Saturday — Club evening, social gathering, music
• Sunday — Festive church service, Frühschoppen, lunch, afternoon program
• Monday — Farewell evening for the village community

The dishes are classic: roast pork, roast veal, or butcher's platter, with coffee and homemade cakes in the afternoon.

From sports club to village meeting point

SV Holzkirchen is a typical smaller Ries club with a football department, joint teams with neighboring clubs (including SV Wechingen, SpVgg Deiningen, Lauber SV), and active club life throughout the year. With events such as Preisschafkopfen (a card game tournament) in January, Schlachtschüsselessen (butcher's platter meal) in February, and the Kirchweih in November, it secures its roots in the village.