It's the 3rd. Saturday in June. On the terrace at the bottom of the valley, it's very comfortable. The sun has disappeared behind the peaks of the surrounding mountains. But what is it? Where we know a massive rock face, a point of light flashes in the middle of the darkness. Seconds later, the next one follows. Before you know it, a powerful painting of light is shining on the mountain. Soon more are joined and over a long period of time, signs, symbols and images seem to be floating around, even chains of lights stretching along some mountain peaks.
When the mountains begin to glow
The mountain fires in Ehrwald, Lermoos and Biberwier have a long history. In the calendar, they are anchored around the festival of Sonnwend, sometimes linked to St. John's Day, which is dedicated to one of Christianity's most important saints. The custom is widespread in the Alpine world, but the Ehrwalder mountain fires are the only ones to have managed to be included in Austria's national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2010. They are considered an example of traditional knowledge and living customs.
The pagan roots of the Sonnwendfeuer in Tyrol
The fact that at the middle of the year the Sonnwenn and St. John's bonfires, which symbolically carry the long light of the day into the night, flare up goes back to pagan customs. Just like the fireworks and bonfires on New Year's Eve, they were supposed to "light up" the evil spirits. The fact that very practical agricultural and forestry work was also done, such as the removal of old branches from tree felling or uprooted undergrowth and shrub, did not detract from the mystical charm.
Lived tradition since Andreas Hofer
Known as the Heart of Jesus Fire, the flaming tradition recalls the resistance to Napoleon's troops, led by Andreas Hofer, who dedicated the land of Tyrol to "the Sacred Heart of Jesus' for his victory. He and his supporters used their knowledge of mountain roads to communicate by night fire signals. The so-called chalk fires in widely visible places warned of the approaching enemy. The nocturnal summer fires that light up the annual Heart of Jesus Festival are a reminder of this part of history.
Here, a centuries-old tradition ignites
The tradition of the Sonnwendfeuer in Tyrol and especially in Ehrwald goes back two centuries. The current tradition dates back to 1948, when the bells in the village were lit for the first time after the war. Today, the mountain fires are also said to be a sign against the destruction of nature and the Alps.
There are usually around 300 volunteers who keep these fires burning. They come from various local associations and families. Some of them have been involved for many generations. Both the making of the fuel and the procedure for building the figures and the optimal placement in the terrain are passed on from the older to the younger.
Experience plays a big role, because "rehearsal fires' don't exist. It's also custom and custom to keep the ever-changing motives secret. This amplifies the surprise effect for the audience and the other groups. The reward for the effort is the applause of the spectators who, after the fire has been extinguished, greet the participants who return from the mountain.
The best places to see as many fires as possible in Tiroler Zugspitz Arena - this year on the 22nd. June - the Moos, the plain between the towns of Ehrwald, Lermoos and Biberwier, where you can enjoy the panorama all around. Many restaurants also offer special mountain fire evenings.
The effort involved with the fires is enormous, with individual subjects reaching heights of more than 2,000 metres. And not everywhere is a comfortable path. To ensure the images are optimally set up in the terrain, the helpers move over sticks, stones and narrow paths to get the 10,000 or so focal points into the right position.
Old technology with modern helpers
Initially, only isolated motifs were represented, while often even simple fires burned. Through the use of true-to-scale drawings and the inclusion of terrain structures in the planning, the tradition has evolved and perfected. While the fire images were once painstakingly designed and planned on the drawing board, today's lighting artists also use digital drawing programs as support. Sometimes these are the first steps towards spatial representation.
But the fuels used have also changed: instead of less environmentally friendly old tires or diesel oil, today only sawdust soaked in rapeseed oil burns. Instead of tin cans in which the fuel was placed in place, fire fighters now use paper cups or sacks that burn residue-free. And so in the end, only flaming memories remain - until next year.
