With ancient custom into the new year: Glöcklerlauf “Glöckler Parade“ in Bad Ischl 2025

Am 5.
© Hörmandinger

Am 5.
© Lenzenweger

Am 5.
© Lenzenweger

Am 5.
© Lenzenweger

Am 5.
© Foto Hofer

Am 5.
©Lenzenweger

The age-old customs around the winter nights in the Salzkammergut:
Through the night with colourful caps

The age-old customs around the winter nights in the Salzkammergut with their secret magic have taken a firm place in the winter months for decades. One of the most beautiful customs is the Glöcklerlauf in Bad Ischl on 5 January, the eve of the Epiphany Festival. A colourful spectacle that you should not miss during your winter holiday in the Salzkammergut. And for all those staying at home there are great photos. Warranted!

Each year on 5th January, at around 6pm , Bad Ischl has “Glöcklerlauf”. It marks the night into Epiphany, or Twelfth Night . The name "Glöckler" derives from the word “knock” and is rooted in an old Salzkammergut tradition. The “Glöckler”, in groups of up to 20, are led from house to house knocking on the doors and asking for a gift. They are dressed in white, have a belt with a loud sounding bell and carry ornate headresses (called Caps) lit with candles .

The caps are intricately designed .The first cap always depicts the comet, then follow caps with ornaments, buildings and references to customs and events. The Glöcker form a line and move in the figure of 8 and a circle, symbolising infinite repetition and the eternal cycle of nature. The candles and bells are to drive away evil spirits and bring blessings on humans and animals.

In Bad Ischl there are normally around 20 Glöcker groups and around 10 groups come into the town centre.

Handmade customs
This custom originated in the Salzkammergut

In some Salzkammergut towns such as Bad Goisern, Obertraun and Bad Ischl, groups of about twenty bell ringers each, called "passes" (that's what the groups in the Salzkammergut are called), run certain figures such as circles, eights, spirals and others under the guidance of a "spy". The spy, as the leader, determines the characters that his "pass" runs. With a long stick in his hand, he makes his way; in the past, it was also used to knock on doors and shutters. The clothes of the bell ringers are white; a bell is attached to a wide belt strap, which is made to sound by the running and dancing movement. On their heads, the Glöckler wear light caps, so-called "Glöcklerkappen" (the caps of the Glöckler). These consist of a framework of thin rods covered with translucent paper to which ornaments, symbols, figures, scenes or landscapes are glued. These often star-shaped, artistic structures – sometimes they are also a replica of a building, a ship or coat of arms – can weigh up to 15 kg and are often made by the bell-ringers themselves in the course of months of tinkering.

Ernst Burgstaller describes the Glöcklerlaufen in his book published in 1948: "Lebendiges Jahresbräutum in Oberösterreich": " . For a long time you can hear the sound of the bells over the dark, snow-covered streets, which only sparsely illuminate the few lanterns, until finally the "spy" appears on the square, followed by a crowd of white-clad "bell ringers". With the huge, inwardly lit headdress, the "Glöcklerkappen", they offer a wonderful picture when they all make their laps, their circles, spirals and eights calling the sun in exactly the same step, when their hoods: stars, semicircles, pyramids and drums, shimmer and shine and illuminate the dark night with their magic like a fairy tale. So they run their laps in Ebensee, Gmunden, Altmünster, Traunkirchen, and thus carry the new young light through the night to the fields and into people's homes. And it is a general belief that the coming year will be all the happier the more belligerents rush through the village ..."

The name "Glöckler" is due to the "Klocken", which means to knock or knock. In front of courtyards or houses that they want to honor, the Glöcklerpass circles, spirals and other figures run. According to old belief, their stamping and ringing is said to germinate the grain buried under thick snow and ice. As a traditional gift, the Glöckler receive the so-called "Glöcklerkrapfen" for their visit.