Der Schimmelreiter
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Der Schimmelreiter e. V. is an amateur theatre association in Wertach in the Oberallgäu district, Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It was founded in 2003 to stage the musical Der Schimmelreiter, based on a local legend, and today consists of an adult ensemble called Historischer Haufen and a youth theatre.[1]
| Der Schimmelreiter e. V. | |
| Founded | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Legal form | Registered association (eingetragener Verein) |
| Member of | Verband Bayerischer Amateurtheater |
| Location | |
| Headquarters | Wertach |
| Country | Germany |
|
| |
History
The club goes back to the musikalische Alpensaga (musical Alpine saga) Der Schimmelreiter by the Wertach hotelier Peter Heinle, a founding member and long-time chairman of the association. The piece retells the local legend of the "white horse rider" of Wertach; the music was composed by Stefan Merkes and the director was Hermann Gabler. In 2003 it was performed 13 times by around 120 lay actors and singers of the Wertach church choir in a tennis hall converted into a festival hall. In 2015 Heinle wrote a second musical, Käs, about the Weißlacker cheese invented in Wertach and the fires in the village's history; as no suitable venue was available after the tennis hall had been sold, only individual scenes were performed, during the village's historical walking tours. In 2025 Heinle was made honorary chairman of the association.[2]
Ensembles
According to a 2024 description, the adult company Historischer Haufen had around 90 participants, five of them from the youth theatre. The youth theatre was founded in 2006; in 2024 it had 32 active children and young people aged 9 to 19. After a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic it restarted in 2024 with three age groups, each staging a one-act play. The pieces are adapted to Wertach's local history in characters, texts and songs and are mostly performed and sung in dialect; the young players also help to design sets and roles.[1] The municipality lists the club as a local partner and invites young people to join the youth theatre.[3]
Awards
On 8 October 2024 the club's youth theatre received the Förderpreis „Heimatpflege-Ausgezeichnet!“, endowed with 1,000 euros, from the Bavarian minister for finance and home affairs, Albert Füracker, in cooperation with the Bayerischer Landesverein für Heimatpflege. The prize was presented at the Forum.Heimatpflege.Kommunal in the Munich Residenz, whose 2024 focus was children and young people in heritage work.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Füracker: Zukunftsfähige Heimatpflege durch engagierte junge Menschen, press release, Bayerisches Landesportal, 8 October 2024, retrieved 17 October 2026. Archived on 18 October 2026.
- ↑ Peter Heinle, Literaturportal Bayern, retrieved 17 October 2026. Archived on 18 October 2026.
- ↑ Schimmelreiterverein – „Historischer Haufen“ und Jugendtheater, Markt Wertach, retrieved 17 October 2026. Archived on 18 October 2026.