The somewhat different Zampern in Lehde
On February 14, 2026, the Lehd’schen set off for the Zampern in the village, as they do every year at this time. This custom of driving out the winter with a lot of noise and “horrible” figures is currently taking place in almost all villages in Lower Lusatia. While elsewhere it is usually just a case of changing sides of the road, in Lehde things are more athletic: in order to be able to visit as many people as possible in the Spreewald village in order to obtain gifts or to be entertained, bridges have to be crossed several times and some paths have to be walked several times. Some farms can only be reached via the river. However, some of the rivers were already free of ice, so that the whole party, over 50 people, were able to cover part of the Zamper route in a barge. At Kaupen 6, a popular restaurant and the destination of the somewhat different boat trip, the Zamperers were just as spoiled as at the other places they had visited before: there was the usual catering – and here a crackling fire, which was very popular, especially with the musicians, the Lehde fire department marching band, who were finally able to warm their fingers.
Anita Storch was in charge of the organization and also managed the Zamperkasse: “We’re organizing a men’s carnival on 28 February in Cafe Venedig, so we can use all the support we can get.”
Among the Zamperers were two from Lower Saxony, Mario Rippka and Heiko Schramm. “We are slowly becoming part of the Lehd family because we have been spending our vacations and many weekends in Gerlach’s vacation apartment for over 20 years. We want to get involved in village life as often as we can,” says Mario Rippka.
Dr. Siegfried Stadelmayer is one of the oldest Zamperers, actually the oldest. The popular and renowned doctor has been a resident of Lehde for decades and is still practising in Lübbenau at the age of 86. “I’ve almost always been involved since the mid-90s, and if you live in Lehde, you have to get involved in village life, whether it’s in the fire department or just the occasional village fair. Ideally, they should be involved in several areas at once, as this promotes cohesion,” he says about his motivation.
Peter Becker, 17.02.26
