Concept
The Kinderfest (Children's Festival) in Memmingen has a tradition going back more than 400 years. Every year more than 2000 children from the municipal primary and secondary schools take part in the festival. The exact beginning of the children's festival is unknown. It probably developed from spring walks of the school classes and the awarding of the best children. The festival was first mentioned in 1571. Referencing to the "Ordnung der Königin inn denn Meidlin Schuolen" from the year 1587, we get a good overview about the course of the festival at that time, as it is still valid almost unchanged. After the spring examination, the girls went to church twice (in the morning and at noon). Then they ate together in the schoolmaster's apartment, bringing the food with them. The best pupils were rewarded, crowned queens and dressed festively. After the round dance in the afternoon, the parents of the queens invited the schoolmasters with their wives and the queen leaders to dinner. A few days later a walk took place. In 1789 the coronation took place for the last time, after there had been many abuses. Even after the mediatization in 1802, the children's festival was held in unchanged form. After singing songs together on the market square between the festival church services, the schoolchildren moved with music from their schoolyard or the "Hallhof" (courtyard in the city) to the "Reichshain" (park in the city), where various games took place. During the Second World War the children's festival was cancelled. From 1946 it was held again on the initiative of the town council Ernst-Wilhelm Hermann and some teachers, since 1949 every year thereafter. Since 1950 the children's festival song by Ernst-Wilhelm Hermann, which since has become a tradition, is being sung. The second children's festival song, "Reigen auf dem grünen Rasen", composed by Adalbert Meier and written by Sepp Skalitzky, was performed for the first time in 1969. In 1975 the canon of songs was supplemented with the wake-up call (text and melody by Adalbert Meier).
