Going Handicraft Market

While the Going handicrafts & art market is a holiday highlight for guests, it’s also a welcome opportunity for locals to dress up in their dirndls or lederhosen (leather pants) and meet up “spontaneously” with friends at the market square from 5 pm onwards. Here they gather to chat in the shadows on the grass. The men gathered around Helmut watch as others drive piles into the earth while Sebastian plays a tune. From where Klaus is sharpening his scythes, it's not far to Lisi who sells her much sought-after ‘Brodakrapfen’ crispy doughnuts.

When farmers Maria and Elisabeth from Going serve their freshly prepared ‘Kasspatzln’ cheese spaetzle and ‘Germkiacheln’ flaky doughnuts with a smile, the good humour is free of charge with your purchase! Luckily for patrons, beer or elderflower juice are never far away.

The faint sounds of music blow in on the gentle breeze. The source? With harp, dulcimer, zither and guitar, the ladies of the Ellmau Stubenmusig band alternate tunes with the musicians from the Söllander Hoagaschtmusig trio. Genuine folk music, which is not overpowering, provides the musical backdrop to the hustle and bustle of the market. Meanwhile, young dancers and Schuhplattler from the Edelraute traditional costume group make a strong impression during an afternoon that already features plenty to see, seek and sample.
Maria’s fresh farmhouse bread, which she bakes in a wood-fired oven at the market, or perhaps a schnapps at Hermann's or maybe a ‘Ringerl Prügel’ cake?

Even old handicrafts, which are seldom practised these days, experience a brief, yet impressive, revival in this natural setting between the Wilder Kaiser and the village church. For example, the Wallner brothers, who get a centuries-old wood-turning wheel spinning, Hans the blacksmith, who hammers large iron nails into the embers, or Elisabeth, who demonstrates how ‘Doggel’ horseshoes are made.

At 8 pm, the Bundesmusikkapelle Going brass band makes its way to the pavilion at market square to perform a challenging set list of traditional and modern pieces. All around there are stylish merchants who tempt the taste buds of spectators' with apricot schnapps. The handicraft market in Going is a popular summer event that has long since established a village tradition in its own right.