Customs Twelve blows needed at the Gansabhauet in Sursee LU
On St. Martin's Day, the small Lucerne town of Sursee celebrated the traditional Gansabhauet. This year, the dead fowl kept its head for less time than ever before.
11.11.2025, 16:45
SDA
The custom in the old town of Sursee involves cutting the neck of a hanged dead goose with a dragoon sabre. Not an easy undertaking: The blade of the sabre is blunt and the slayer, wearing a red cloak and golden sun mask, can't see a thing.
Reto Burri from Kaltbach was successful on the fifth goose this year. Sascha Friedli from Mauensee needed seven strokes for the second goose, as Andrea Stutz, deputy town clerk of Sursee, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on request. The two successful beaters can take home the St. Martin's goose as a prize.
86 people, including 83 men and three women, had registered for the Gansabhauet, which this year was watched by around 4,500 spectators in front of Sursee town hall.
A sip of wine before the goose is struck
During the custom, everyone is only allowed to strike once, after which it is the turn of the next striker. Before the sabre strike, there is a sip of wine and the person is spun around several times.
The origins of the Gansabhauet are shrouded in mystery. There are indications that the custom already existed in the Middle Ages. Customs involving geese on St. Martin's Day were once widespread throughout Europe. Documents attest to the custom in Sursee from the early 19th century.
Today, St. Martin's Day is a popular festival in the old town. Children can secure a gift by climbing poles, compete in a duel in the sack race or earn a piece of cheese by making faces, the so-called "Chäszänne". The day ends with a Räbeliechtlium parade.
