Have you never heard of the Krampus? Oh really? Don’t worry, in this post I’m going to talk to you about them, more specifically about the parade of Krampus and Bad Goisernone of the most popular and terrifying events that takes place during the days before Christmas in Austria.
So that you can understand it, while St nicolas reward children who have behaved well with gifts, Krampus They punish children who have misbehaved by giving them a good spanking. And don’t see how they whip! I speak from my own experience! In short, a Krampus is the Christmas demon that watches over children.
Do you know what a Krampus is?
In Spain we are not very familiar with these “horrible monsters.” A Krampus (Krämpussen, in German) is a type of hairy demon, with large horns and a very elaborate mask that, armed mostly with an elderberry stick or a horsehair whip (many of them also with a torch or similar), walks along other Krampus the streets of Bad Goisern in search of bad children (although also adults) to give them, as I mentioned before, a good spanking and kidnap them in the days before Christmas.
Where is Bad Goisern?
If you want to see the Krampus parade in Bad Goisern, you should know that Bad Goisern is located a few kilometers from the charming city of Hallstatt, the most beautiful city in the world on the shores of a lake. From Hallstatt we published our post about what to see in Hallstattin case you want to take a look.
When is the Krampus parade in Bad Goisern?
The Bad Goisern Krampus Parade is always on December 7th. This 2023 starts at 7 p.m. and part of the Bad Goisern Marketplace. It is said that more than 1000 crampons They will walk the streets of Bad Goisern.
For a couple of hours, hundreds of monsters carrying heavy cowbells will walk through the streets of Bad Goisern, trying to give a good whipping to the most curious who wait on the sidewalks of several streets in the city behind the fences installed. In the following video of less than a minute you can see a summary of the Krampus parade in Bad Goisern of 2018.
Not all Krampus in Bad Goisern parade on foot. Many of them parade on large structures pulled by tractors or other motorized inventions that seem like they are from hell, like this one I show you below.
Some of these structures are equipped with flares, thus creating a terrifying atmosphere. Others even go so far as to set off fireworks. The atmosphere at times becomes terrifying!
The entire parade is enlivened with heavy metal music at high volume, which plays everywhere. Together with the sound of the Krampues’ cowbells, they create a most “infernal” atmosphere.
Not all of them are bad. Saint Nicholas is coming!
The Krampus precede by about two weeks the arrival of Nikolaus (Saint Nicholas) who, with his red cape and bishop’s miter and his good-natured face, comes every year to give small gifts (chocolate, sweets, tangerines, etc.) to the children. They have been good, just the opposite of what the Krampus do as we said before. The arrival of Saint Nicholas is one of the most anticipated moments of the Krampus parade in Bad Goisern.
Are there more Krampus parades in Austria?
Of course. Although not as popular as in Bad Goisern, the Krampus parades also take place in Hallstatt and Obertraun, very close to the lago St. Wolfgang. In both cases the parades are on December 5 at 5 and 6 pm respectively. Krampus are also very popular. Salzburg at Christmas, as in many towns and cities in Germany. By the way, if you visit this area of Austria, don’t forget to visit the Lake St. Wolfgang Christmas Markets.
Recommended excursions from Salzburg
If you are in Salzburg and want to get to know Hallstatt you might be interested in booking this Hallstatt excursion and even this other excursion to the Salzkammergut region and the villages of Lake St. Wolfgang. You can also go directly by joining this excursion to see the Lake St. Wolfgang Christmas Markets«.
Flights to Austria and car rental
To know the Krampus the Bad Goiser I recommend that in addition to looking at flights to nearby Austrian cities, you look at Memmingen in Germany since the flights are cheap and there you can rent a car being cheaper than in Austria. On this website you can find the best cheap flight offers to Germany and Austria.
Where to sleep in Bad Goisern
Bad Goisern l visited during mid viaje to Hallstatt. I stayed there Gasthof Simony, located in Hallstatt’s Markplatz itself. The booked room offered incredible views of Lake Hallstatt and the surrounding mountains. If you want to reserve it, see this link.
Travel insurance for traveling to Austria
Don’t forget to take out your travel insurance. They are usually inexpensive and can get you out of trouble. We always travel insured with MONDO. For being a reader of the blog they will give you a 5% discount at this link.
Source: https://naturalezayviajes.com/krampus-bad-goisern/
