Bäckermöhli to take place for the 334th time

Today, the Guild and Brotherhood of Millers, Bakers and Confectioners in the city of Zug will be holding their ‘Hauptbott’ - the 334th Annual General Meeting. On the morning of the last Wednesday in January, the masters and confreres of the Guild and Brotherhood of Millers, Bakers and Confectioners of the City of Zug gather early in the morning to worship in the Liebfrauenkapelle (Chapel of Our Lady) in the old town.

After a pleasant snack with white wine and cheese pies, the official annual meeting takes place in the Gothic Hall of the Zug City Hall (Rathaus). The guilds then visit the kindergartens in the city of Zug to tell the children there about the custom and their craft. It goes without saying that they take pastries and sweets with them!

Members of the guild throw goodies to the crowd.

At lunchtime, the guild members meet for lunch in the Aklin restaurant, where delegations from other Zug guilds and the guests of honour are also received. Sculptor Stephan Schmidlin is the guest of honour this year. Humorous speeches are given, the food is served and the new guild members have to pass a tricky test before they are officially accepted. The Fischmärt (fish market) starts to fill up with many children and their adult companions in the late afternoon, who loudly shout “Bäckermöhli! Bäckermöhli!"

At 4.15 p.m., the newly-elected ‘wohlwiisi, geschträngi und fürsichtigi’ (well-behaved, shrewd and farsighted) guild chairman Hugo Trütsch, , steps out on the balcony with the guild council, the guilds and his guests to throw Mutschli (bread rolls), Lebkuchen (gingerbread), Wienerli (sausages) , Guetzli (cookies) and oranges to the spectators below.

The traditional Bäckermöhli continues half an hour later in front of the Ochsen restaurant. After a procession through the Neugasse and the old town, accompanied by the guild music, the day is concluded with entertainment for body and soul.

As every year, the master bakers offer the Zug guild bread in their shops, a chunky, dark bread with wheat and rye content, decorated with the familiar Guild Pretzel and baked in the traditional way. At the Bäckermöhli itself, special Guild rolls made from sweet dough, as well as a guild mutschli, are thrown to the spectators.