The way from a felled trunk to a finished maypole is long, and nearly all of it is handwork. For weeks there is planing, painting, forging and fitting. How the tree looks in the end is the calling card of a community, and and it is taken very seriously indeed.
The white and blue spiral
The classic maypole carries a spiral in white and blue, the colours of Bavaria. It runs from the foot to just below the crown and makes the trunk recognisable from a long way off. Not every tree is painted, and in some places the wood is left bare, but white and blue is the commonest sight.
The wreath and the crown
At the top a green crown of branches is left standing, or a wreath is fixed to the trunk, often with coloured ribbons. The wreath is taken as a sign of spring, and many also read it as a sign of fertility.
The Zunftzeichen
The heart of it is the Zunftzeichen, the guild emblems: forged or painted plaques and figures showing the trades and clubs of a place, the baker, the smith, the butcher, the brass band, the fire brigade. That turns the tree into the whole trade of a place, plaque by plaque. What the individual signs mean is set out on the page about the meaning of the maypole. Especially richly worked was the tree at the Viktualienmarkt with its six groups of figures; the new one is due to stand on 9 May 2027.
Who decorates the tree
Usually the Burschenverein, the local club of young men, or the maypole club, the fire brigade or a practised neighbourhood, often over weeks and with many hands. At the end comes the day when the decorated tree goes up, and with it the work of half a spring.
Sources
- muenchen.de, offizielles Stadtportal: 1. Mai in München 2027: Maifeste, Maibäume und weitere Traditionen.
- Verein Münchener Brauereien e.V.: Münchner Maibaum - Die Motive.
- Wikipedia: Maibaum.
Retrieved on 7 October 2026. The sources are in German. They document the facts given on this page; the bodies named remain the authority.