Gauder Fest

Up to 30,000 visitors and around 3,000 contributors celebrate the world-famous Gauder Fest every year on the first weekend of May, making it the biggest and most important traditional costume and spring festival in the Alpine region. Safeguarded by UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage initiative, it’s a festival filled with warmth and joviality, and one that is deeply rooted in more than 600 years of tradition.

Ancient traditions live on
For more than 500 years, Tyrol’s oldest private brewery, Zillertal Beer, has supplied Gauder Fest with the strongest festival beers in all of Austria, and a drink named Gauder Bock has achieved cult status among connoisseurs. Gauder Bock, which is 7.8 per cent alcohol by volume, is brewed in September, then left to age for eight months before being served in early May. Another unique brew is Gauder Capricorn, a special bock-style beer that is made to a recipe dating back to the 1920s.

The name Gauder Fest has its roots in this brewery, and is not – as many people believe – derived from the word Gaudi (German for joy or fun). It refers to the brewery property Gauderlehen, where the festival took place before being moved to its new location in the village in 1950.