This was the 592nd Hofer Schlappentag
As one of the oldest shooting and craft festivals in Germany, this year's event once again attracted many people to Hof and the shooting range, including not only representatives of craft businesses and shooting clubs, but also city councillors, guests of honor and visitors from Hof's twin towns of Cheb, Plauen, Ogden and Villeneuve-la-Garenne.
The program started on Sunday morning with the Schlappenschießen and continued in the afternoon with the traditional Hussite tour and the Bürger-Schlappenschießen, which has become a real hit. On Monday, the Hof national holiday was rung in at 9 am with the wake-up call at the town hall. The "Krebsbacker" picked up Lord Mayor Eva Döhla together with the board of the Privileged Disc Shooting Society and the trades as well as selected guests of honor.
Lars Neumann, head marksman of the Privilegierte Scheiben-Schützen-Gesellschaft, welcomed the numerous guests in front of the town hall. Mayor and Shooting Commissioner Eva Döhla acknowledged the importance of the Schlappentag as a lively and ever-growing tradition in the city of Hof. Until 2002, the reception was held in the large conference room of the town hall, she recalled: overcrowded and only accessible to a small circle. "That was not in the spirit of our national holiday. So it's all the better that we can now invite everyone outside the town hall so that everyone can be there. It is crucial how the tradition is maintained, how it is developed and, even more importantly, how it is passed on to future generations. This is the only way that the Schlappentag is and remains living Hof history."
Historian Adrian Roßner then read out the document from 1430 in his margrave's robes. As in previous years, Pegnitz mayor Wolfgang Nierhoff sang the "Steigerlied", this time with musical accompaniment from the Trockau fire department band.
The motto of this year's painting and handicrafts competition for Hof's children's daycare facilities was "Show us your favorite slippers". District master craftsman Marco Kemnitzer announced the winner: the winner was KinderOase Dreieinigkeitskirche, which can look forward to a visit from the Hof Wärschtlamo. The children made lots of small, colorful slippers that were creatively decorated and impressed the jury.
At the end, head marksman Lars Neumann revealed the well-kept secret: Patrick Leitl is the new Schlappenkönig, replacing the previous Schlappenkönigin Eva Döhla. Leitl received the traditional lemon, a certificate and a chain and can park for free in the town of Hof for a year.
The king of the town shooting is Markus Hartmann. He will be allowed to take part in the Schlappenschießen next year.
The parade started led by the new Schlappenkönig. In light rain, the city leaders, craftsmen and marksmen, guests of honor, the city council, chimney sweeps, the German Armed Forces, the majorettes from Cheb, apprentices from the city of Hof and many more marched to the festival grounds at the shooting house to enjoy the Schlappenbier brewed especially for Schlappentag by the Scherdel brewery.
