Schlachtfest

Schlachtfest-Slaughter Feast

The story below was written by a dear friend, Rosa Modro and her recollections of the holiday in her hometown of Germany!

Was ist ein Schlachtfest?

(What is a Slaughter Feast)

By Rosa Modro

          Growing up in Germany, I lived in a big city and therefore, I was only familiar with the nicely tiled, clean, Butchershop frequently visited by my mother to buy all of her meats and cold cuts.

          Then during the war as air raids in big cities became more and more relentless, my mother decided to evacuate me to the countryside where willing farmers would take in city children.  There I learned all about the joys of country life, but also the hard work, chores and traditions that come with it.

One of them was the ‘SCHLACHTFEST” (Slaughter feast or country feast). The slaughter took place once or twice a year, Spring and/or Fall.  A decision made by the owner, depending on the size of his farm and how many family members and farm hands he had to feed through the year.

I lived on a small farm, so came Fall, the farmer sorted through his herd of pigs, selecting with great care and choosing which animals he wanted to breed, sell, trade and the ones to be slaughtered.  Once the decision was made, the butcher would be called to schedule the date for the big event.  All the neighbors would be invited.

Somehow the pigs must have gotten the message too.  I never heard them squeal and carry-on more as I would on that particular day.

For the butcher and his henchman, it would be a busy day.  Their work was carried out with great know-how and precision.  I was always amazed at how every part of the victim was utilized in one way or another.  Even the intestines were scrubbed, turned inside out and scrubbed again, to be used for the casing of sausages, etc.

While all this hard work was going on, the invited guests were feasting and gobbling down freshly cooked meats, sausages and soups, accompanied by fresh crusted wood oven baked breads, washed down with a good brew.

That is how I experienced and remember the ‘SCHLACHTFEST’.

With time comes change but the tradition has continued and lives on today.  As you travel in Germany look for big signs outside ‘Gasthauses’ that read:

HEUTE SCHLACHTFEST (Today Slaughterfeast)

A Schlachtfest is the German term for the ritual or ceremonial slaughter of an animal, which is often followed by feast. Today, it usually refers to the practice in many parts of Germany, such as the Palatinate, for a celebration or festival involving the ceremonial slaughter of a pig reared or bought by a private household or an inn for that purpose.

The menu for such a Schlachtfest in the Palatinate includes soup (Metzelsuppe), various sausages (Pfälzer Leberwurst, Blutwurst and Bratwurst), liver dumplings (Leberknödel), boiled belly pork (Wellfleisch) and Sauerkraut. It was common when a pig was slaughtered at home that Metzelsuppe was given as a gift to neighbours, often in milk churns. Frequently the neighbours bought some of the fresh sausages so produced. Wine was drunk with the meal. The slaughter of a pig by an inn was called a Schlachtfest. Within the village everyone knew it was happening because a pig's bladder would be hung up outside. Occasionally this is still the case today.

The organization of a Schlachtfest at home and giving Metzelsuppe and sausages to family members and neighbours is still fairly common today in the German-speaking world especially in Swabia or Lower Saxony.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the excellent definition.