program

The program is continuously being developed. All information subject to change.

Day 4 | Saturday, 7 June 2025
04:50 the gate to the castle opens. sunrise music
09:00 orchestral music with choir in the castle courtyard
– arrival of the shuttle bus from vienna –
09:30 ritual foot washing
10:30 table actions with meat, fish, blood, and fruit
12:00 lunch
14:00 body performances in various areas of the castle courtyard
16:30 procession from the castle through the fields
18:00 dinner at the old mill in rannersdorf
21:30 return of the performers to the castle | shuttle departs for vienna
23:00 string quartet in the castle park
00:00 stargazing. meditative contemplation of being

Day 5 | Sunday, 8 June 2025
04:50 the gate to the castle opens. sunrise music
– arrival of the shuttle bus from vienna –
10:00 orchestral music with choir in the castle courtyard
10:00 amfortas action in the cellar of the castle
11:30 return of the performers from the cellar and continuation of the action in the courtyard
12:30 lunch
14:30 continuation of the amfortas action with spears, the oedipus theme is introduced
17:00 the actions intensify toward the finale of day 5
18:00 dinner
19:54 sunset music. poetic orchestral closing
– return of the shuttle bus to Vienna –
22:00 string quartet in the castle park
00:00 stargazing. meditative contemplation of being

Day 6 | Monday, 9 June 2025
04:15 sunrise music (percussion, synthesizer)
04:52 watching the sunrise
08:00 morning music (synthesizer)
– arrival of the shuttle bus from vienna –
08:00 max stiegl begins preparations for the sautanz (food: langos,…)
10:15 finale actions (amfortas / oedipus / christ) in the castle courtyard, accompanied by synthesizer and brass band
12:30 the actions reach their final climax, theme of resurrection
13:30 max stiegl prepares traditional sautanz dishes (food: sausages, creamed heart, boiled meat, grammeln, doughnuts, …)
20:00 evening/closing dinner: sauschädel
– departure of the shuttle bus to vienna –
20:51 sunset music (synthesizer)
21:30 procession with torches to a nearby wine cellar
00:00  stargazing

End | Tuesday, 10 June 2025
03:15 a string quartet plays in the castle park
04:15 sunrise music (percussion, synthesizer)
04:52 watching the sunrise. the players embrace and kiss. the 6-day-play comes to an end.

 

“the festival is for me a holy festival. all the intensive experiences, all the emotional turmoil wrung out of us by the dramatic events, are to determine our sensitivity during the feast. all the joy and exuberance are to be experienced with a cheerful holy earnestness. the invitation is not to take part in some superficial and shallow amusement, it is all to be experienced deeply, strongly, and intensively. i request the audience to take part with a majestic dignity. these plays intend to glorify creation and unconditionally recognize our safety and sense of being-cared-for in the cosmos. the six-day play is borne along by the highest and purest pathos. deeply moving emotion from the limitless whole of the world is to find its way in our hearts. i ask you all not to behave like picknick groups posing on advertising posters, full of phony merriness. the score calls for the enjoyment of wine. this enjoyment of wine requires a specific drinking technique. when i speak of excessive drinking, i understand a mastering of intoxication that does not degenerate into aggression and would end in endangering other play participants and the action itself. i hope to be a knower and adept of the possibilities of intoxication afforded by wine and therefore request not to accept a loss of personhood within this rapturous experience. i also request that you wear reasonable, timeless clothes.” – Hermann Nitsch, Prinzendorf in July 1998

“the festival takes place in all weathers.”

“walks are possible throughout the action. they can be taken in the morning hours, at midday or in the evening, when the actionist happenings are less bundled together. specially recommended is the walk to the wine cellar in zistersdorferstrasse, the pentecost path. the o.m. theater (prinzendorf castle) is be understood as the nucleus of the creation event, around which everything else orbits and takes place. one always returns to the principal happenings there. the castle should be not unlike a sanctuary, a cultic site of the grail.”

“food and drinks: meanwhile our affluent society has bred its fashionable master chefs and five-star eateries, it’s all become insufferable. what has become genuinely exotic and rare is our local cuisine, characterised by bohemian and hungarian influences. i mean the cuisine of vienna and the weinviertel.”

 

HOUSE RULES

The house rules for visitors provide the security necessary for holding the event, create an atmosphere conducive to experiencing the play and a harmonious atmosphere amongst all in attendance.

  • Observing these rules therefore benefits you and all other guests. Entering the venue, you are legally accepting the validity of these rules.
  • You are also accepting that video cameras are used on parts of the venue grounds for safety purposes.
  • The control band entitles entry to the event. Lost bands cannot be replaced!
  • Acts of intentional damage will be subject to compensation claims by the organiser.
  • Please place your rubbish in the containers available.
  • Please contribute to preserving the environment and reuse your glasses for beverages (do not take a new glass each time).
  • Please use ashtrays – throwing cigarettes into the grass is dangerous (high risk of smouldering fire!); absolutely no smoking is allowed on the processions through the fields!
  • Please do not cause damage to the fields.
  • The event organiser assumes no liability for injuries, accidents and other adverse health-related effects through personal negligence or the fault of others; the event organiser assumes no liability for lost items.
  • No liability is assumed for valuables of any sort.
  • Instructions by stewards / security personal are to be followed without delay.
  • Guests who ignore the house rules or disregard warnings given by stewards / security personnel can be ordered to leave the venue grounds without claim to reimbursement of the entrance fee.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO RESTRICTIONS

The work of Hermann Nitsch demands that the events happening in real time are registered by the senses directly. The use of devices to take photos and videos impede this; in addition, to protect the actors and works of Hermann Nitsch, it is prohibited to take photos and videos in some areas of the grounds. Specifically, those areas where actionist happenings directly take place – the courtyard, the bell stand and the granary. Entry with professional photo and video equipment is generally not permitted. The performance will be documented by an authorised team of photographers and filmmakers who will be visibly identified.

Keep the good memories in your heart – not on a chip!