Gesellen – Germany’s wandering Journeymen

Enlarge image Amassador Th. H. Meister and "Gesellen" - Germany`s wandering Journeymen (© H.G. Velten)

To most New Zealanders, these strange-looking travellers from Germany may look like dressed-up fans on their way to the Rugby Sevens or left-overs from a Renaissance fair, but they are actually followers of a European tradition reaching back several hundred years. Dressed all in black with a slouch hat, a double-breasted vest with huge white buttons and corduroy bell-bottom trousers, they represent one of Germany’s most endangered species – the Gesellen or journeymen.

Since the Middle Ages, many German craftsmen have gone on what they call “The Waltz”, a kind of working pilgrimage taking artisans who have finished their apprenticeship all around Germany, Europe or even further afield. Most of them are carpenters (all dress in traditional carpenters’ outfits from long ago), plumbers, tile layers, masons, roofers or joiners. They embark on a three-year journey to see the world and at the same time gain the practical skills they need to become master craftsmen. In medieval times, they were not even considered for entry into their respective guilds before going on “the Waltz”.

Enlarge image from left: Mrs. S. Röfer, Deputy Head of Mission, Amassador Th. H. Meister and "Gesellen" - Germany`s wandering Journeymen (© H.G. Velten) The journey can take them halfway around the world and follows a strictly observed set of rules: it must take exactly three years and one day, and they must leave and return with 5 Euro in their pocket. Their few belongings are packed into a small leather backpack (the “Felleisen”) and must not contain anything other than their uniform, tools, undergarments, a sleeping bag, a book and their trademark walking stick (the “Stenz”). During the Middle Ages, they also wore gold earrings and bracelets which were used to raise money for a burial if one died on the way.

Money and goods for survival come from casual employment they find on the way and donations from anyone kind enough to support them. As part of their routine, the journeymen visit the embassies of the countries they travel through, where they recite a poem or sing a song and present their travel diaries which are duly sealed with an Embassy stamp.

Today, their numbers have shrunk to a mere 500 or thereabouts who make the decision to go on “the Waltz” – so if you come across one of the German “Gesellen”, be kind to him (or her)!