Fastelavnsridning / Shrovetide Feast — Dragør & Store Magleby

Fastelavnsridning i Dragør og Store Magleby

Fastelavnsridning in Dragør and Store Magleby is one of Denmark's strongest living Fastelavn traditions, held on Shrove Sunday (Fastelavnssøndag) and Shrove Monday (Fastelavnsmandag) in southern Amager. On Shrove Sunday, riders in Dragør gather in the morning with flags and a music band and ride through the town on visits all day; at 16:00 they perform tøndeslagning til hest (barrel-hitting from horseback) at Blushøj. On Shrove Monday, 25–30 male riders wearing high hats, white shirts, and embroidered black vests on decorated horses ride through Store Magleby, culminating in tøndeslagning at 16:00 on Hovedgaden, after which the Barrel King is celebrated with a traditional toast and song in the courtyard at Amager Museum. The Dutch introduced the tradition when they colonized Amager in the 16th century; a sketch of a barrel ride on Amager appears in Jacobæus' Travel Book Records from 1671. Visitors are welcome to follow the riders along the route.