Schützenfest (roughly translates to ‘marksmen's festival’)

Every year during the summer months a lot of Schützenvereine (literally translated to gun clubs) are organizing their Schützenfest. You can see them practising their shooting skills. Some members of the club build the ‘royal household’ (yes, that’s right: Every club decides on a king through a shooting competition with whom comes a royal household who represents the club and the city itself on public occasions), parades and a lot of beer. But why and what do they celebrate?

Germans are not only annually celebrating the existence of their club, but also the solidarity and community of their residents. At the Schützenfest in Paderborn you can experience the shooting practice and competition, as well as live-music, laser-show and amusement park. Don’t miss the Zapfenstreich, including trumpets, after which you can get one, two or more beers.

Historic background to the Schützenvereine

In order to understand the phenomenon of the Schützenvereine you have to get deeper into the history of the Schützenvereine, which started already a few hundred years ago. The Schützenverein of Paderborn (also called PBSV) is a result of the Bürgerwehr (vigilante committee), which was founded 924 due to severe cases of robbery throughout the cities. It consisted of several different farming communities and later became an organization controlled by the military. In the 18th century the former militarily operated vigilante committee became a civil union.  After the occupation by Napoleon and the following entry of the Prussia in the area the civil union was disbanded.
In the following years different associations and unions were founded. Then 1831 the PBSV was officially founded and acquired its own Schützenplatz (a place for shooting practices, fairs and get-togethers), due to its size and popularity. The PBSV considers itself to be a union of paderborner people, regardless of their religion or social status. After its founding to the beginning of World War II the number of members increased and the Schützenplatz was extended. A festival hall as well as a “shooting tower” were built.
After the complete destruction due to World War II the number of members was at its lowest. During 1940s-1950s the number of members consistently increased again and the club grew back to its old size. The Schützenplatz was rebuilt and expanded.