Saint George's Ride / Sankt Georgi-Ritt

Saint George is probably best known for the legend in which he, the red cross knight, slays the dragon and saves the beautiful princess. He is also the patron saint of England, and it is from his red cross that the English flag is derived. Saint George also happens to be the patron of knights, farmers, and horses, and it is this claim to fame that makes him a very important saint here in Austria. So important is Saint George, in fact, that his feast day (officially April 23) turns into a two day celebration in Salzburg, complete with beer tent and oompa bands that play from morning until night.

Saint George is celebrated in many Austrian towns, and the most important part of the festival is the Georgi-Ritt. This ritual is a procession of horseback riders, many in historic costumes, led by a Saint George-like figure in armor and red cloak. The horse procession travels to a church where a special mass is celebrated and the horses are blessed.

This morning was the St. Georgi-Ritt in Salzburg, and so we headed into town early. The horses assembled in Kapitel Platz, some arriving in trailer and some simply being ridden into town. Many people were dressed in historic costume and many horses had fancy braids or flowers or hats. Some even had their rump hair carefully combed into checker-board like designs. It was awe-inspiring, sixty some horses milling about between the beer tent and the cathedral, some getting on each other's nerves from time to time and whineying loudly and prancing around, waiting for some signal to start them on their way. Then suddenly, just when it seemed like maybe the horses were going to revolt and trample the tent, a line formed and off they all calmly marched, heading for their special blessing up at St. George's Chapel in the castle.

We had not planned on going any further, just interested in seeing what the process was like, but then Nikolas suggested we go and see the armor up at the castle and we thought, "Why not?" So off we went, even splurging for the funicular (which wasn't a giant splurge since we can get into the castle for free as residents of Salzburg) that takes you up to the castle in less than a minute. We beat the horses easily, and so were able to watch them process into the courtyard by the chapel and line up for their blessing. Once they were all in place, we left them to do their thing, and went off in search of armor which, surprisingly, didn't exist anywhere in the castle. If you're interested in World War I uniforms, there are plenty, but armor? Forget about it. Saint George's armor was the only armor of the day.