Created: 11/01/2022, 7:00 p.m
Of: Ulrike Pfluger-Scherb
Split
High-wire artist Fernando Traber flies over the Kassel Christmas market in a reindeer sleigh. The dress rehearsal was scheduled for Monday.
Kassel – “It was really hot, unbelievably warm,” says Fernando Traber as he climbs out of his sled on the Galeria parking deck at around 12:20 p.m. on Monday afternoon. The tightrope artist has just made his first ride in a reindeer sleigh in full Santa Claus gear across Friedrichsplatz. It feels like 20 degrees in summer when the 24-year-old artist gets out of the red vehicle.
“It’s a lot cooler at the North Pole, where I actually come from,” says Fernando Traber jokingly. He quickly sheds his white beard.
Kassel: high wire act over the Friedrichsplatz went well over the stage
“Fernando, that was wonderful. Congratulations,” says his father Falko Traber. The 63-year-old artist stretched a tightrope across Friedrichsplatz with his sons Falko junior and Fernando from Friday (October 28) until late Sunday evening (October 30). On Monday afternoon (October 31st) the acceptance took place with the building authority and Heiko Breidenbach, who works as a safety officer for Kassel Marketing.
“Setting up is always a big challenge. We’re still tense, not just the rope,” says Falko Traber. Not only his son Fernando will fly over the Kassel Christmas market as Santa Claus in a reindeer sleigh. He himself will appear with the show in Karlsruhe and his son Falko junior in Bochum. But Fernando will break two records in Kassel.
The youngest Santa Claus is coming to Northern Hesse
At 24, he is the youngest Santa Claus in the world to fly over a market. On top of that. Fernando also has the highest job worldwide as a flying Santa Claus in Kassel. The 150 meter long rope is stretched at a height of 40 meters. For comparison: In Bochum, the flight altitude is only 35 meters and in Karlsruhe, it is 30 meters.
Fernando Traber will have his first official flight over Friedrichsplatz on Monday, November 21, with the opening of the fairytale Christmas market. Until December 23, he will fly with the 500-kilogram sled team every day, at 5 p.m. on weekdays and at 7 p.m. on weekends. “We want to give the children at the Christmas market a memory that they won’t forget for the rest of their lives,” says the 24-year-old. What child doesn’t wish to see Santa Claus fly?
Christmas in Kassel: Rudolph will fly over the fairytale Christmas market with his sleigh
The show lasts about twelve minutes. Meanwhile, in the square below, people can not only see the sleigh with reindeer hovering overhead, but they can also hear the story about Reindeer Rudolf. Do the trotters, who have been inspiring high-wire artistry around the world since 1512 in the 16th generation, also have a fear of heights? “We only know fear of depths,” says Falko Traber. But the artist doesn’t want to talk about anything negative.
“We want to focus on the beautiful things in life,” says his son Fernando. “You have to love a job like that. You don’t do it for the money.” You can’t learn high-wire artistry either, says the 24-year-old: “It’s in the blood.”
High above Kassel: safety is the top priority for the professionals
He himself was baptized on the tightrope, his parents got married on the tightrope. At the age of five he was on the rope for the first time. He has since worked his way up from 40 centimeters to 40 meters in Kassel.
Safety is very important for the pros: Before each show at the Christmas market, Traber will check the system with all cable connections, which is also monitored by video. In addition, you get constant data from the German weather service, whether a flight is possible, says the security officer Breidenbach. If the wind is too strong, Santa Claus has to take a break. (Ulrike Pfluger-Scherb)
This year there will again be Christmas markets in and around Kassel.
