This page sorts out the key points. It is a guide, not a sales offer: Maibaum München does not sell trees but explains the custom and the practice behind it.
Which wood
For the classic maypole, spruce or fir is usually used, because they grow tall, straight and comparatively light. The trunk is stripped of branches and peeled. For the small love maypole, by contrast, a birch is used.
How tall and how heavy
A village or district maypole typically measures around 30 metres; individual record trees exceed 50 metres. Weight rises quickly with height: a large tree soon reaches several tonnes, which is why the tree at the Viktualienmarkt is described as weighing tons. Height and weight determine whether the tree can still be raised by hand with scissor poles or only with a crane.
What a maypole costs
There is no flat figure; the range is wide and depends on height, painting, guild emblems and transport. The budget includes not only the trunk itself but also the ornate guild emblems, the painting, the foundation or ground sleeve, and the recurring costs of structural-safety inspection and insurance.
Cost items at a glance
- One-off
- Trunk, painting, guild emblems, foundation or ground sleeve, raising.
- Recurring
- Structural-safety inspection, liability insurance, upkeep and eventual replacement.
Raising, inspecting, insuring
A maypole is a structure in public space. It is raised by a specialist or an experienced maypole club. Recurring structural-safety inspections are then customary, and liability insurance is strongly recommended. Anyone planning a site on public ground also needs the permission of the respective owner or municipality.