Ende of semester tradition

As I often do, I strolled through the Altstadt last Tuesday, a rather rain-beaten day.  On the square in front of the Lamberti Kirche an unusual looking crowd of young men was forming.  The longer I stood, the more young men congregated near the door to the church.

I began to recognize signs of old nineteenth century traditions among these “brothers.”  These were fraternity men from various groups coming together.  Other onlookers gathered too.  None of us seemed to know what was going on, so I approached a rather tall (ca. 6’5″) young man to ask him to explain.  He and his “brethren” explained that it was the end of the semester and that it was tradition that the fraternities came together for a church service and then a banquet.

Not long thereafter the colorful group processed through the portal of the Lamberti Kirche.  See the rapier to this young man’s righthand side?  Older fraternities in Germany have the tradition of fencing, called “schlangende Verbindungen.”   Fraternities are controversial in Germany because they represent a sense of an “elite.”  Some people associate them with very conservative politics, perhaps even neo-Nazi attitudes.

These guys were clearly more formally attired than any of the rest of us that soggy evening.  An interesting encounter.