that the lord. highly constat literally the city of saints. and the people here do indeed celebrate a long tradition of christianity and some of the rituals practiced here go back hundreds of years. on palm sunday the sunday before easter catholics from the

central german town gather in precession to bear witness to the sufferings of christ. then at 15 then carry these larger than life wooden figures through the town. of the 4th bearer and or from other from you greg grandfather was the 1st then my grandfather and my father my father. were not for us a highlight for the whole town. sense 1581 catholics have been staging this holy week procession and highly. it resembles a passion play each palm sunday they carry huge figures around the town center portraying the sufferings of christ. jesuits introduced the tradition as part of their strategy to subvert the attraction of the protestant reformation in the region.

depends on some muslims because almost the procession is really remarkable because it has survived told a vicissitudes of history you were stunned in like moment secularization and soon periods that the pope described as godless dictatorships. it's a very strong christian. unwitnessed from a small region at the heart of germany in bushland. today the passion procession of highly constat is one of the largest in the country. this will represent the mount of olives where jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion here in central europe olive trees are a rare commodity. so the builders make do with the french as a few trees. we traditionally use huge trees because there's lots of them growing around here they are also very decorative they're nice and green. there more than. the huge tree branches that represent all of branches from the holy mountain are

a popular keepsake. do you worms as to everyone wants to take one home and it's an old tradition to which the palm sunday branch is behind the crucifix in your sitting room they stay there all year this sometimes leads to a regular free for all with people fighting over the last branches so we make sure to put lots of them on our display day when we dismantle everything they'll be none left. the figures are stored in the attic of the old jesuit college the pierre ta depicting the virgin mary holding the body of her dead son was replaced 120 years ago. some of the other figures date back to the 16th century they are carefully preserved and have been spared the ravages of time. is most the moment the 1st time i took part in the early 1980 s. they had predicted rain that had rained so hard when we carrying the figures we

can't really take a step to the side so we just marched straight through all the puddles got so wet you could hear our shoes squelching what a mess that's. been there is retiring this year his sunday shot is said to take over his role in the procession that's the tradition here but 1st he needs a top hat off to do them all. over do you happen to have a spare top hat for our son ben. also it will be 00 to look through what we've got not found 3 because. all platform bearers wear their sunday best black suits and top hats those. are not it this is a top hat my grandfather used to wear. over par seen a few downpours because i'm a dork it's too big for me you keep slipping around on my head this is what it is too big line it with newspaper. and but if it doesn't fit richard we have to find

another one. not on. the floor thought of believe it belonged to my wife's grandfather. you know it's too small for me but i think it should fit richard they're going to think you know which office will issue or in this case hat fit. this is where the procession is set to start on sunday bowden knows the way he will be in the front row carrying the 1st figure you're getting 1st we'll head up that way towards the 1st intersection. and then turn right towards vilhelm stars and. through. it's the same route the procession has followed for centuries one and a half kilometers through the streets of halligan stat. and here i think this is real history will be coming from up here in procession and head this

way across getting us taza want to live in l.a. . and then back to our starting point where the closing service takes place. another palm sunday tradition and highly constat at the little boxes that held a shot of paints. this is so often that is i very old custom here in that we always give each other a little boxes after the palm sunday for session will be a pity if the custom disappeared from. the box as our beloved souvenirs from highly constat next to the one she painted herself to also keeps many historical examples in her museum dish them for me though and these were painted between 100-8910. very simple. this autumn was covered with thinned paint and you know these symbolize palm fronds and each box was decorated with a bouquet of flowers and a little saying. 40 years ago she brought this half forgotten tradition back to

life. do you mean. young men would present responses to this week. when the girls approval that way and parents would give them to their children in that case there will always sweet sayings on the box like god bless you. oh and so lovely here they're sharing. the museum has visitors year round the motif of the easter lamb as a best seller held a shot of 1st painted a box like this for the late cardinal meisner archbishop of cologne. caught a cardinal gave it to somebody and. it's a moment irish held at 1st i thought he didn't like it and i realized he wouldn't make a present of something you didn't like yourself. and then he told me he'd

given it to his best friend cardinal ratzinger now you don't say. yes and then continental minds now received a new one requirement since then i've often painted the pascal landed him up there's no record of whether cardinal ratzinger took the box with him when he moved into the palace of the vatican as pope benedict the 16th either way hell the shot is quite pleased. cousteau's still christ is the good shepherd and the good shepherd looks after history of people dimension and the lamb is both the sacrificial lamb earns the victorious lamb. in recent years a novelty has crept in among the boxes. how did the luther rose find its way to this very catholic town. so i thousands and if english intense 2000 lutheran christians will formally invited to a palm sunday procession before that they don't really ever been spectators. since

then they join in so i thought that much to be a special thanks to the lutherans and that's why i designed this box and this week you look at it. meanwhile at the shrillness home we've gathered a few top hats let's see which of them fits you us 20 year old bill now wants to follow in his father's footsteps and assume the family's office as one of the ceremonial platform bearers took. time to find out if one of the hats they borrowed actually fits. this one's a bit too small isn't it. for some 32 years carried the last figure in the procession the holy step of her formal dress has always been obligatory. finally the 4th that they try fits but it's his father's will have to share it is one. just as they'll share the route

father paul plans to take over for his son on the 2nd leg of the procession. but i think your management of getting a. downhill hams tosser and i'll carry it the rest of the way you'll see you'll be flagging by bad. country can you get in for the moment the youngster seems confident enough sports assume you're from someone some standing next to the holy settle or leaving the house to join the procession i think it will feel a little special i imagine what it must be like to walk through town while people point instead whisper to each other in reverence oh joke one of the barest of the disney air force the course i know you can tell when you're being stared at. it dressed in his finest sunray shard is ready to carry on the family legacy. and. me feel proud is a fine thing and i think it's wonderful that you're doing this. his

father is brimming with pride as we look at how you've grown up. the whole precession is organized by families in highly can start like the spinners but there's one exception to the rule since 1943 men from the neighboring village of best house and have been responsible for the 4 metre high cross. best 1000 lies just 5 kilometers east of haile constat. for decades your highness trialing and after him his son angle that have been crossed bearers. of the mansion helped carry the cross and mr filmer did to those who serve for us it's an honor to be part of the procession. the involvement of best house and was a result of the 2nd world war. many residents of highly constat were at the front

and there weren't enough strong men left to carry the figures. so the dean wrote a letter to the parish priest at best house and asking for support the men from best house and volunteered to carry the cross years later when the men of highly can start wanted to take it back the volunteers were reluctant to hand it over. to new york. we had a meeting and discussed the situation and we decided we're not going to relinquish the honor we've received. we were good enough during the war we were good enough afterwards. to do. there are often told us that the men of best 1000 what dead against it and i'm glad they were. 12 men in our families we all agreed we should carry on bearing the cross and stead of giving it back. with. their determination

paid off that trialing took over the cross from his father in 1906 my father said he'd been carrying the cross for 40 years he asked if i wanted to take it over of course i did you know. i stayed close out. that i was carrying it the right way it's not easy and fast you have to fall in line with the other bearers and take direction from the men who've been doing it for years. it's tricky when you're standing at the back trying to balance it out. growth across lanes to one side the people on that side have to push against it and you push against them this is and sometimes it's not the weight of the cross that's the hard part of the guy next year pushing the wrong direction award we never dropped it into. the procession was introduced by jesuits who were sent to the area over 4 centuries ago by the archbishop of mines ruler of the territory. these

jesuits got creative as they went about spearheading the counter-reformation. media i would enjoy designing they took what we would call a multimedia approach they were the best instruments at the disposal of the catholic church and the passion for session was part of their program they turned it into a mass back to kl talking to mom. and it was to be a spectacle on good friday the day christ was crucified. but the locals objected to the proposed to date. that was a good friday is a holy day of obligation for catholics we eat one meal all day and we're not allowed mate so they couldn't sell sausages and the fasting rules forbade many other things of the day isn't suitable for a big public spectacle because it commemorates the sufferings of christ so the procession happens on palm sunday instead of the times under-funding. since the

date was changed to palm sunday and 734 the procession has been enormously popular and to keep it that way the local people were prepared to defend their perception by all means at their disposal. the nazis forbade schoolchildren to accompany the holy sepak or but 8 young boys defied the order. because both describe this as the greatest disappointment of his life caused by the very people who were supposed to play a key role in constructing the 1000 year reich. people to defy nazi ideology the boys were sent to a hitler youth prison camp in baghdad where they suffered physical violence and were interrogated. for him away you could view this as a form of resistance in the 3rd reich as the utah position. and attempts to suppress the parade didn't stop there after the end of the war this

was soviet occupied territory former provost paul you. tells an anecdote about his predecessor in 1946 when he feared the procession would be banned he turned to the soviet commander. the commander had been a theater director in russia. and so of course he was interested in drama. when the provost knew this when he played on the man simply describing the procession as a holy play. he said it was no demonstration it was a melodrama if you would many participants he was asked 6000. commander was very impressed and how many acts here. if not accurate scenes was the answer. for. the day after the procession the man was summoned by the soviet commander. with his knowledge of the world the last thing the

provost wanted before he left was a hearty breakfast and knew these appointments could take time and when he wasn't sure whether he was going to be praised or reprimanded. he was praised. and the incident became part of highly constat history. afterwards the east german communists never dared to ban the procession. but they did punish those who collaborated. especially the bears. the marks keep here between 3 many other people who held important positions had to decide for themselves whether it was worth taking part in the procession or not especially in the final years when east germany was particularly weak and pressure in the factories and collectives increased it with lead christians couldn't even

get a masters or to fit anymore. in those communist years taking part in the procession was a bold declaration of one's faith. to part for the 1st time in the mid 1980 s. despite the political repercussions he would face. demonstrated that i was committed to my faith that i hadn't bought into socialism. the. procession let me show that quite openly. but that man that i wouldn't be allowed to study. or i wanted to become a forest ranger but all of a sudden i was caught off that's what i was pushed out of the system or and. also. in spite of the discrimination they suffered this small region remained a bastion of faith. 80 percent of the population is catholic. doesn't

god lies wild weather in the 3rd right here or later on the communism was as diverse as always was an expression of resistance you know standing for this was their way of telling the regime that it hadn't succeeded in getting the whole region to accept the new ideology they didn't need anybody else's worldview they had their own given the choice between marx and god they chose god for good. highly constat on the sunday before easter the day of the passion procession its 12 noon how the shutter is arranging the palm sunday boxes on her table. or to scram sunday is palm sunday is an important day for this region and even people from far away know about it many will come through the weather is perfect the sun is shining so that means even more than joining the given the who is not near that often break. 1230 they should still not dresses for the procession today he will soon honorary

office in every sense of the word to march in the procession as one of the bearers of the holy sepak or is a high accolade and high like and start. for a shot will inherit the office from his father as custom dictates. today he will become part of a 400 year old tradition. it's an emotional occasion. for the 50 man and formal dress will be the heroes of the day richard do you want to begin from the 3rd or so carry from the start it's ok here's how i share the load richard of all carry the holy settle down villains. then i'll take over and go to guns taza and little knowledge and others that no. 1 o'clock thousands of pilgrims and tourists crowd into the town. by that that's all running according to plan and no change is the same as a. every year either ya the time. of. the bears from best house and take up their

positions at the cross it's not the heaviest load but it's the hardest to carry. you're going to leave the holy step occurs decorated with flowers the spill ners father and son are starting to feel the tension. of this river so i hope i don't step on your feet but if you do after the 3rd time you have to polish my shoes afterwards. how this shot has painted boxes are attracting potential customers. a colorful memento of a very special occasion of course as all of you are. on the stroke of 2 the procession starts with him and prayers the fateful march through highly constat . only after the 1st figures have covered a 3rd of the route is it time for a shard to start. the holy step occur is the

final scene. and weighing $320.00 kilos it's the heaviest. yeah i was moved through that saves all guns and they stayed on main street removing all the guns from the no cushioning the old hymns the tom daschle son in church anymore. and if you look at the people who will see santa all variant who has feelings and that everybody is moving toward. when i say that perceptions don't have to us most impetus not to fight back the tears with the stupid and from. the vest 1000 men are proud to be carrying the cross. and albert dryland has taken his father's place. it's uplifting when you see that you're

part of this whole community. 8000 people have joined the procession today. another 4000 lined the streets. and recharges build their shoulders on the shoulders of 11 other men rests the holy supple car a heavy burden. his father is waiting to take over but young restart isn't ready to quit yet. 8 tenths of a kilometer no he's not handing over this is just a short pause. on 1.2 kilometers hasn't he had enough. in which he wants to finish now there won't be any handover will god the moment i knew he wouldn't give up i knew it all along he told me he wanted to see if there was.

the passion precession is punishing for the bears but it's a burden they carry with pride across 1500 metres hold at some point i didn't want to hand over i told myself i had to finish i think he's even happier about it than i am. well richard. it hurts like selling out some shows this year i would you know take over you wouldn't exact this list of names when i wanted to finish 1st so you did this now you know whether you have the orders. richard wants to take over permanently it's not handed over to me. oh you're gonna cut. it off. to. the palm sunday procession is more than a spectacle or a custom. for the people of highly constat it's

a declaration of their faith. it was a still involve your mother procession is always the same that's the spirit of tradition it expresses a certain continuity when you see that christianity is still alive here there is still catholics here. the church is a not empty there are people who want to demonstrate their faith that is by the airport we are or by the fact that we've been chosen. to carry the figures through the time. when i'm president of the people. it all they believe the procession will survive another 400 years i'm certain of it just different than. what.

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