Escalade Festival (09/12)

The Escalade Festival – is a beautiful historical festival that takes place annually in the Swiss city of Geneva at the very beginning of winter. It lasts 3 days – from Friday to Sunday – on the weekend closest to December 11th. This festival is dedicated to the victory of the townspeople over the army of the Duke of Savoy and gaining independence from the Carolingians in 1602.

According to historical data, Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy in December 1602, in an unexpected assault, tried to capture Geneva, rich at that time, neighboring his duchy, which, in his opinion, had become too free a city. There were only a few sentries on the city fortifications at the time of the attack, but as soon as the alarm sounded, the entire population of the city rushed to its defense.

The attack was successfully repulsed, and the losses on both sides were not comparable to – for 17 dead Genevans there were hundreds of fallen opponents. By the way, Geneva retained its independence until joining the Swiss Confederation in 1815.

Since then, the night of December 11-12 –, when the attack on the city occurred, has been celebrated in Geneva as one of the most significant and beloved holidays of the townspeople. In honor of this event, a number of festive events are taking place under the name Escalade Festival, which translated from French «Escalader» means «storming a fortress using stairs» or « climb stairs, climb up».

First of all, the December Escalade Festival – is a colorful costume medieval event in which the entire city participates. During these days, Geneva residents dressed in ancient costumes walk around the city, with drums and flutes, and ancient warriors shoot with muskets and cannons.

The culmination of the festival program is a costumed equestrian procession of guardsmen in medieval costumes with torches and hot red wine and a grandiose ceremonial parade through the city center. This is an unforgettable sight – when, following a signal from the cathedral tower, a motorcade of pipes and drummers fills the cool winter air with songs in the ancient Geneva dialect and cheerful music flying through the winding cobbled streets of the Old City. At the end of the holiday – there is a huge fire.

By the way, according to legend, Mother Royome played a key role in saving the city, who knocked over a cauldron of hot vegetable soup onto the enemies storming the fortress walls. Since then, this dish has been the main symbol of the holiday along with hot red wine. And since Geneva is considered the gastronomic capital of Switzerland, and there are a huge number of various cafes and restaurants here, everyone, of course, can enjoy local cuisine and refresh themselves during the holiday.

Therefore, if you find yourself in Switzerland in December, be sure to attend this truly amazing event – Escalade Festival, which takes all participants back centuries, and which even the chilly December weather cannot spoil.

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