# Aperschnalzen

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aperschnalzen
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aperschnalzen.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperschnalzen
> Source revision: 1129548566
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

thumb|Aperschnalzen, in Salzburg, 2005

'''Aperschnalzen''' ([Austro-Bavarian](/source/Bavarian_language) '''''Apaschnoizn''''') is an old tradition of competitive [whipcracking](/source/whipcracking) revived in the first half of the 20th century in [Bavaria](/source/Bavaria) and [Salzburg](/source/Salzburg). The word "aper" means "area free of snow" in the Bavarian language.

The Aperschnalzen involves the rhythmic snapping and cracking of a whip up to 4 m in length (called "Goassl" in Austro-Bavarian) and takes place at the end of January and early February. It is performed in small groups ("Passen" in Bavarian) of 7, 9 or 11 members each.<ref>[http://austria-lexikon.at/af/AEIOU/Aperschnalzen/Aperschnalzen_english Aperschnalzen (austria-lexikon.at)]</ref> It has been thought that this tradition had a [pagan](/source/pagan) meaning of "driving the winter away" by whipcracking.

<gallery>
File:Whipcracking Aperschnalzen.jpg|The whip
File:Whipcracking Aperschnalzen Detail.jpg|Different whip models
File:Whipcracking Aperschnalzen the Cracker.jpg|The cracker
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*  Andrea Euler-Rolle: ''Zwischen Aperschnalzen und Zwetschkenkrampus. Oberösterreichische Bräuche im Jahreskreis''. Landesverlag, 1993. {{ISBN|978-3-85214-591-4}}
* [http://home.comcast.net/~a-mcnibble/Rants/WhyWhipsCrack.pdf Why Whips Crack]

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.schnalzen.de/ Homepage Schnalzer Association]
* [http://austria-lexikon.at/af/Wissenssammlungen/AEIOU_Video_Album/Aperschnalzen ''Burschen beim Aperschnalzen'' (Video)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120208031405/http://www.davidmorgan.com/whipcracking.html The art of whipcracking]

Category:Culture of Altbayern
Category:Whip arts

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aperschnalzen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperschnalzen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperschnalzen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.