History and Culture
Historically, the present-day form of the village consists of two different villages, the actual Balzers in the east and Mäls in the west. Not visible to the unaware, the division still persists in the local village culture, where it manifests in half-serious local competition. Some customs, such as the "Funken" a springtime ritual with pre-Christian origins involving a huge bonfire, are still being practised by each separately. The two parts were first mentioned in 842 as Palazole.
Balzers is the home of the Burg Gutenberg, a 12th century castle which is located on a rocky hill in the center of the town.
Read more about this topic: Balzers
Famous quotes containing the words history and/or culture:
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“The white dominant culture seemed to think that once the Indians were off the reservations, they’d eventually become like everybody else. But they aren’t like everybody else. When the Indianness is drummed out of them, they are turned into hopeless drunks on skid row.”
—Elizabeth Morris (b. c. 1933)