What is "steckenpferdreiten"

Steckenpferdreiten (English: hobby horse riding) is a custom of the city of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany commemorating the peace agreement of 1648 by which the Thirty Years’ War was concluded.

The peace festival first took place on 22 October 1948 to mark the 300-year anniversary of the Treaty of Westphalia, which had been negotiated and signed in Osnabrück and Münster. Every year since 1953, year four (primary) school pupils have gathered on or around 25 October – the day on which peace was declared – and “ridden” their hobby horses to the Rathaus (at first only male pupils were allowed to participate). The procession is followed by a children’s festival in the centre of the Altstadt.