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10 Facts about the Böögg and Sechselaeuten
Photo by Geoff Pegler
Sechselaeuten Celebrations will be taking place on from 16th – 19th April 2027 and the Böögg will be burned at 6pm precisely on Monday 19th April 2027
- Sechselaeuten is not a Switzerland wide custom but a Zurich tradition. It is a festival to celebrate the end of Winter and it was originally related to the introduction of the Summer working hours – see here for more info.
Photo by Geoff Pegler
- The Böögg looks like a snowman and stands 3.4 metres tall and his head is always stuffed with fireworks.
- The earliest recorded celebration of Sechselaeuten dates back to 1525.
- These days Sechselaeuten is always held on the 3rd Monday in April every year.
- The Böögg has always been set alight in Sechselaeutenplatz, except for three occasions. Once, during the war when the land was used for growing potatoes. At that time it was held at Enge and the Böögg’s head fell into Lake Zurich! The seconds time was during Covid when the Böögg was burned in the mountains and the event was transmitted live via television. The third time was in 2024 when it was too windy so it was burnt in Heiden in Appenzell instead.
- In 1950, 1960, 1993 and 1994 the Böögg came off his bonfire before his head had had the chance to explode.
- The Fisherman’s Guild, the Zunfthaus Zurich Schiffleuten, one of the many Guilds which take part in the parades on Monday afternoon, used to throw dead fish into the crowds during the processions. This was stopped in 2016 and now they throw chocolate fish instead!
- The longest time for the Böögg to burn was in 2023 when it took 57 minutes.
- The time on record is 5:07 minutes in 1974.
- In 2026 it took 12 minutes and 48 seconds to burn
- The Böögg maker Heinz Wahrenberger retired in 2015 after 50 years and in 2016 Lukas Meier took over for the first time.
- After the Böögg has exploded there’s now a new tradition to grill your sausages in the burning embers.
In 2027 the Böögg will be set alight on Monday 19th.
We hope you enjoyed our “10 Facts about the Böögg and Sechselaeuten”.
For more information about the Tradition of Sechselaeuten and what it stands for see our previous article here:
Have fun and enjoy this year’s celebration!
Märlitram Zurich 2026: The Böögg Drives a Magical Spring Tram for Kids
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6 comments
A very poorly written post and lost opportunity.
How about telling us WHY the tradition exists. What does it mean? Why is there a figure of a person and not an animal or something else? Why is it a king? Why is he wrapped in white, and not just straw? Those are cool facts we want to know.
Thank you for your comment Jordan! This is just meant to be a few fun facts about the celebration to be read in conjunction with the main article which covers all the details you mentioned were missing. Here is the link to the main article: https://newinzurich.com/2017/03/sechselauten-and-the-burning-of-the-boogg-in-zurich/ – I hope that helps!
Lovely photos what a fun celebration! Hopefully I can make it next year!
Thanks for your comment Melanie! Glad you like the photos. There is another post all about the history behind the tradition which is meant to go with this article – here’s the link: https://newinzurich.com/2017/03/sechselauten-and-the-burning-of-the-boogg-in-zurich/
Would be nice to change the photos. Instead of the Zunft zur Kämbel you should use photos of the Zunft zur Schiffleuten (Fishermen) who used to throw fishes.
If you have a photo of the Zunft zur Schiffleuten we would be delighted to use it 🙂