Schützenfest Friduwi-Frauen Metelen

Friduwi-Frauen — Metelen's Women's Shooting Association

The Friduwi Metelen Women's Shooting Association is one of the few purely women's shooting societies in the Westphalian Münsterland region — a modern tradition that breaks with centuries of male shooting culture. The name Friduwi refers to a Westphalian saint from the 9th century who founded a convent in Metelen. The association's annual shooting festival takes place on Saturday, May 2, 2026 — a full day of shooting customs with mustering, parade, bird shooting, and Queen's Ball.

2026 Program — The Friduwi Shooting Day

The day's program follows the classic structure of a Westphalian shooting festival, adapted to the Friduwi tradition:

• 1:30 PM — Muster at Sendplatz with umbrella and cloth
• 2:00 PM — March off with the Metelen Fife and Drum Corps for wreath-laying
• 2:45 PM — Bird shooting in the Zauberwald with musical accompaniment by the SFZ (Spielmanns- und Fanfarenzug) Metelen
• Proclamation of the new Queen immediately after the bird shooting
• Festival parade through Metelen
• Entry into the festival tent at Schützenwald
• 8:00 PM — Public Queen's Ball with welcome address, performance by the Parolemannschaft, refreshments, and DJ music

Bird Shooting in the Zauberwald

The Zauberwald — the shooting grounds of the Friduwi association — forms the backdrop for the central act of the shooting festival: the bird shooting, where the new Friduwi Queen is determined. This custom connects the women's shooting society with the centuries-old tradition of Rhenish-Westphalian shooting culture, but gives it its own female character. The Queen bears responsibility for the association's representation in the following shooting year.

Queen's Ball in the Festival Tent

The public Queen's Ball from 8:00 PM in the festival tent at Schützenwald opens the event to the entire population of Metelen. DJ music, welcome of the new Queen, performances by the Parolemannschaft, food offerings — the social highlight of the festival day and one of the most important dance events in Metelen's annual calendar.

Metelen — Münsterland Municipality in the Steinfurt District

Metelen is a municipality with around 6,500 inhabitants in the Steinfurt district (North Rhine-Westphalia), located in the western Münsterland region between Burgsteinfurt and the Dutch border. The municipality has a long monastic history (Stift Metelen, founded in the 9th century) and a very vibrant club culture — shooting clubs, carnival, music. With the Friduwi Women's Shooting Association, Metelen has an unusual characteristic: its own female fraternity tradition alongside the classic male shooting societies.