Knabenschiessen is a yearly event held on the second weekend in September in Zürich, Switzerland. Knabe means boy and schiessen means to shoot, but it doesn’t mean that boys are being shot but rather they take part in a target shooting competition.
This event has been in place since 1899, and is organized by the City of Zurich Rifle Association. The actual shooting takes place on a shooting range in Albisgütli. In the early days it was used as a paramilitary event designed to have boys sign up for the Swiss army. Events and competitions have been around for many years, and probably in many countries, and the first “Knabenschiessen” was recorded in 1656.
Since 1991 this competition has been also open to girls. However, all participants, ages 13-17, must either live in the canton of Zurich or go to school there . Whoever wins is crowned the Schützenkönig or Schützenkönigin which translates to “king or queen of the shooters”. Neva Menzi won in 2019.
Schützenkönig Daniel Manser of Birmensdorf, 1977.
ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Vogt, Jules / Com_C23-115-002-02 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Knabenschiessen, 1971, ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Baumann, Heinz / Com_L20-0625-0010-0003 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Vogelschießen
The whole event reminded me of the fair I attended as a child and teenager, “Vogelschießen” which means “bird shooting”. It was organized by the local sports club and the children, divided by gender and age, would participate in various games. The adults had their separate competitions and would shoot at a wooden bird which was mounted on a pole. There were parades and marching bands, food stands and dance parties (for the adults). And just like the Swiss, we also had a Schützenkönig and/or Schützenkönigin.
You might ask yourself why a target shooting competition takes three days? I mean how many children can there be in Zurich who partake? Well, it’s not just a shooting event but the biggest folk festival or fair in Zurich. People come from all over to have a good time on the fairgrounds on the rides and the food stands, the music and fun events.
If you wondered why I spelled Knabenschiessen with ‘ss’ but Vogelschießen with ‘ß’ or you know that a sharp ‘s’ if it follows a long vowel is spelled ‘ß’, then let me tell you that the ‘ss’ is the Swiss-German spelling. They don’t use ‘ß’ at all in their writing, it is always ‘ss’.
