Wrestling festivals 700 prizes await the wrestlers in the Burgdorf temple of gifts

The temple of gifts for the three Burgdorf wrestling festivals was opened on Wednesday afternoon. 700 gifts are waiting to be chosen by the wrestlers - including three winning munis.

There is no particular highlight for him, says Patrick Sommer, who is responsible for the gift temple. "They are all highlights."

There are 700 gifts in the Temple of Gifts, "it's the largest temple of gifts in the world", says Sommer. A year ago, they set themselves the goal of 550 gifts. And they never thought they would reach this figure, let alone exceed it. This was only possible thanks to the help of the numerous helpers, their networks and the support from the region and beyond.

According to Sommer, a team of 15 people, volunteers from the four sponsoring associations and the organizing committee of over 90 people were involved. The temple of gifts was completed on Tuesday evening, a precision landing, so to speak. "It looks beautiful," enthuses Sommer.

Although there is a single temple of gifts for all three Schwing festivals, each gift is assigned to one of the three festivals. "It will be a challenge for us to find the appropriate gifts on Thursday at the Oberaargau Schwingfest," says Sommer with a laugh.

Munis, cattle and a foal

The most successful wrestlers can look forward to live prizes. For example, three winning Munis are waiting for new owners. They bear the melodious names "Pierre von der BTS", "Adrio von der Metzg" and "Biglers Nominator". Three cattle and a foal were also donated as live prizes. They can all be admired in the live prize stable.

According to the organizing committee, there is something for everyone in the temple of gifts, including traditional gifts such as pigeons or carvings, furnishings, tools, cash, gold coins and vouchers. The total value of all the gifts amounts to over half a million francs.

The Oberaargau Wrestling Festival will take place in Burgdorf on August 1, the Emmental Wrestling Festival on August 3 and the Bernese Cantonal Wrestling Festival on August 11. The arena has a capacity of almost 12,000 people. The organizing committee expects between 50,000 and 60,000 wrestling fans at the three festivals and the associated events - depending on the weather.