Weingarten (dpa) – At the blood ride in Upper Swabian Weingarten there is a novelty on Friday (7:00 a.m.): Among the expected up to 2000 riding participants this time there are probably some women, said the Catholic Dean Ekkehard Schmid. “But there are few who say, now is my chance.” Among them is the mayor of the municipality of Baindt (Ravensburg district), Simone Rürup. The mayor said she took riding lessons specifically to participate.
Women have not been allowed to take part in what the city of Weingarten says is the largest equestrian procession in Europe. The responsible parish council had already decided in November 2020 to allow “blood riders”. Due to the corona pandemic, the procession took place the following year with only a few riders – and the association responsible for it had not yet changed its statutes, so that again only men were on horseback.
According to the organizers, the procession in Baden-Württemberg to accompany the Holy Blood relic with tens of thousands of spectators has been maintained for more than 900 years. According to legend, the relic contains earth-mixed blood from Christ’s crucifixion.
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