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One of Tyrol’s oldest and most extraordinary carnival traditions has grown up in the village of Tramin: The Egetmann procession, which takes place on Shrove Tuesday every other year, continues to attract thousands of visitors from near and far.

The leading figure of this procession is the ‘Egetmann‘, from whom the proceedings take their name. The procession begins to the sound of trumpets, followed by the arrival of street sweepers, who clear the way for the farmers with their rakes, scythes and ploughs and transport a large cart full of seeds. Then the main figure, the ‘Egetmann‘, appears - a dummy dressed in a black skirt, top hat and white gloves sitting on a horse-drawn cart. The ‘bride‘ travels alongside the cart on a ram.

Since women have never been allowed to take part in these proceedings, all the parts are played by men. This includes the bride, who isn’t allowed to drink any wine during the procession, yet may down as much schnaps as ‘she‘ wants.
The ‘town councillors‘ sit on the second cart in celebratory fashion accompanied by a ‘minute-taker‘. 

The procession continues with a colourful array of characters, including bakers, smiths and cobblers and, of course, the famous ‘old bag mill‘, thus bringing the traditional part of the procession to a close.

The ‘old bags‘ are caught and thrown into the mouth of the mill; after a complete makeover and rejuvenation, an attractive young girl then emerges from the other end.
During the whole procession the Schnoppviecher‘ wreak havoc. These are scary creatures with dragon-like heads on long necks constantly opening and snapping shut their jaws.

Topical themes and events also get the Egetmann treatment: following the historic part of the procession various floats and groups appear, hitting out at current political happenings, both local and international.farm holidays in Tramin