THE TRADITION OF EASTER RIDING IN EASTERN GERMANY Easter riding, or Osterreiten as the tradition is known in German, is a solemn, gently paced practice. It takes place on Easter Sunday, the day associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dressed in black, men ride horses in procession across countryside to the southwest of Berlin, announcing his return to life. TEXT: STUART FORSTER
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PHOTOS: PIXABAY
Osterreiten is associated primarily with the Sorb communities of Lusatia, a region whose historic boundaries straddle Brandenburg and Saxony while also reaching across the modern Germany-Poland border. Gaze through the windows of German trains as they roll into stations in Lusatia and you’ll see that several display bilingual signs. The station names are displayed in both German and the Sorb languages. Cottbus, for example, is known as Chośebuz in Lower Sorbian. In Upper Sorbian, Bautzen is Budisyn. The region’s Sorb minority has Slavic ancestry. Approximately 70,000 Sorbs live today in 38
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Issue 92
The equine processions can stretch to hundreds of riders dressed in black suits, long black coats and top hats. The participants also wear white shirts, black ties and footwear that’s polished until it gleams. To un-
| April 2022
eastern Germany. In a region that is nominally Protestant, the Sorbs are predominantly Roman Catholic. Osterreiten can be traced back at least six centuries and the tradition has seen something of a resurgence in recent years. It outlived the German Democratic Republic, a state that obstructed religion freedoms, after surviving repression during the Nazi-era – a period during which the Sorbs faced persecution. Yet, rides were reputedly held during the final months of World War II as Soviet troops closed in on the region. But in 2020, precautions put in place during Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the rides being cancelled.
Bautzen.
