Dresden.
The Steigerlied is the anthem of the miners – including in the Ruhr area. A special honor has now been bestowed on the song.
The Song of the German miners “Good luck, good luck! The climber is coming” is intangible cultural heritage in Germany. The Culture Ministers Conference decided on Wednesday to include it in the nationwide UNESCO list, as Saxony’s department head Barbara Klepsch (CDU) announced in Dresden. It is “the anthem of the German miners and an integral part of the mining traditions that are particularly alive in Saxony”.
According to Klepsch, associations and private individuals, communities and educational institutions nationwide are committed “in an outstanding way to the preservation of this unique cultural form”. They could “be proud of this award,” she congratulated. So far, the song, which is part of the tradition in the Ore Mountains, the Harz Mountains, the Ruhr area and the Saarland, only belonged to the corresponding state inventory of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Steigerlied: Origins go back to the 16th century
The transnational application “Singing the Steigerlied” was submitted in 2021 by the Ruhrkohle Musik association from NRW to emphasize its importance for all German mining regions. According to the ministry, the statements of all ten German state associations of miners, smelters and miners’ associations were incorporated into its development.
The origins of the Steigerlied go back to the 16th century. The first evidence of a public performance can be found in the description of a celebratory event in 1678 in honor of the Saxon Elector Johann Georg II in Schneeberg. The song speaks of the miners’ hope of returning to the light and their families after their hard and dangerous work underground. It is usually sung standing – also at mountain parades in the Ore Mountains, in the Harz Mountains, in the Ruhr area or in Saarland.
Inclusion of cultural forms: Sixth round of applications begins in April
According to NRW Minister of Culture Ina Brandes (CDU), classic German riding lessons and the circus were also included in the federal register of intangible cultural heritage at the request of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to the ministry, the circus is an independent form of performing arts that combines a variety of art forms and disciplines: theatre, music, athletics, media and technology. With the application for admission, the sponsoring group undertook to review the history of the circus with regard to colonial aspects and the animal-human relationship.
The sixth round of applications for the inclusion of cultural forms in the state inventory of the intangible cultural heritage of NRW and the nationwide directory will begin on April 1st. Groups and communities that cultivate oral expression, customs, rituals, performing arts, traditional craft techniques or natural knowledge can apply in their state until October 31, 2023. (dpa)
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