See a mountain in flames!
By Paul Johnson on May 08, 2009 in Austria, Europe, Events, Regions, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe
Get ready for an incredible summer solstice display at the Tirolean Zugspitz Arena in Austria next month. On 20th June 2009, when dusk settles, over 8,000 fires will be lit on the rock faces of Zugspitze, Grubigstein, Sonnenspitze and Marienberg creating a spectacular display at an altitude of more than 200 metres. Preparations for the event are already underway with 700 kilo bags filled with rapeseed oil or sawdust anchored into the rock at high altitudes ready to be lit. The event stems from an ancient Alpine tradition that dates back to the 14th Century when summer solstice fires were burned on St. John’s Eve on the mountain peaks to symbolize the sun and to ward off demons.
Certainly sounds an interesting display and a bit different from the usual fireworks that you see everywhere now.
Sounds super cool! I wonder what they do in the event of high winds though? Sounds like winds could ruin the event.
Anyone know what the impact on the environment would be? OK, so they’re not burning fossil fuels but they must be creating a heck of a lot of smoke.
I think it really depends how that smoke is generated for the effects on the environment.
Kay,
It doesn’t exactly sound environmental-friendly to me either. It sounds very cool but my first question when reading was: “Can they do that”
something a bit different and with a historical angle – cool