Easter fire sustainable

Easter is a celebration of people coming together, especially those who live far away and visit their families at home. The Easter bonfire at the beginning of the festive season has become a meeting place where neighbors and friends come together and contacts are cultivated. The Easter bonfire stands for a new beginning and the creation of space. Old things are no longer needed and are burned – this is the traditional background.

Like every tradition, the Easter bonfire is subject to change. Whereas in the past it was usually just a small family bonfire, today it is a gathering of the village community, usually organized by the local fire department. In the past, all fuel was precious and was needed for domestic ovens, especially for baking ovens. It was simply too good to be incinerated on the scale it is today.

In the meantime, initial considerations are being given to using the enormous quantities of hedge cuttings and other (untreated) wood waste in a sustainable manner. In Burg, the local pottery Möbert uses the energy of the Easter fire to make ceramic fires. The enormous amounts of energy are used to burn the blanks, which are deposited in the wood before burning and are retrieved after the ash has cooled, often two days later. Potter Ilona Möbert is then very tense and full of anticipation for the result, as she no longer has any corrective influence on temperature curves and firing times once the Easter fire has been lit. On the day of collection, all the “potters” meet again to receive their Easter fire ceramics.

At the Woklapnica in January, the Mayor of Burgenland, Bernd Ragotzky, suggested that deserving citizens should not only receive a certificate of honor, but should also have their name burned onto a ceramic product of their choice – in the truest sense of the word – during the Easter firing. Bernd Ragotzky thanked Heike Budarick for her work in the children’s gymnastics group, Fritz Matschenz and Rolf Zimmermann from the Burg-Kauper fire department support association. All three met at the Burger pottery to create their ceramic vessels under the guidance of Ilona Möbert, over coffee and cake. The Easter bonfire tradition is thus upgraded in line with the concept of sustainability. The removal of the products is eagerly awaited. But the fire will have to flare up first. In the presence of many Easter vacationers, it will be lit at the Kneipp and adventure campsite on the Spreewald rivers.

Peter Becker, 25.03.26