Klapperlauf in Linz

"It rattles through Linz again"

Klipp klapp, klipp klapp, that's how the mills clatter according to a German folk song at the rushing brook. For the "colourful city at the Rhine", clattering is a lovingly cultivated, Catholic Tradition.

Citizens and guests in Linz at the Rhine will be able to participate in the "Klapperlauf", because the Easter rattling will make you "all ears" on the days of Easter, when about 200 "Linzer Klapperjungen und -mädchen" (Linz rattling boys and girls) will replace the silent bells. With large rattles, a wooden instrument on which a wooden clapper is moved to the left and right by swinging it strongly, young and old run through the old town of Linz, producing loud rattling noises.

The Easter ritual is said to have come to Linz with the Capuchins, who settled in the city in 1627. The bronze figure of the Klapperjunge by the Linz artist Inge Heim, erected at the Neutor, is a reminder of this ancient custom.