Every third Sunday in July the riders in the barrel union compete on decorated horses to smash a barrel of herrings and be crowned the king of barrel and rod.
The traditional barrel knocking off begins with a walk through all districts of Ahrenshoop. During the competition on the fairground, the members of the barrel association gallop on decorated horses with a heavy wooden club onto a herring barrel suspended at a height of approx. 3 m, one after the other. Whoever knocks off the last bars is appointed king of the bars and whoever knocks off the last piece of the barrel is king of the barrels for one year. At the ball in the evening the kings are honoured and celebrated with dancing and live music into the night.
The course:
9.30 Walk of the riders through the village
12.30 Starting and procession
15.00 Commencement of the strike of the barrel at the fairground
15.30 Barrel knocking for children
20.00 Barrel ball in the marquee
