Skip to main content
DE
EN
DAYS LEFT
NewsletterWacken-Radio
W:O:A Wacken Open Air
  • News
    News
    All News
    Subscribe to our Newsletter
    Newsletter unsubscribe
    RSS Feed

    #greenwacken2025 - the winners have been drawn!

    [Translate to English:]

    "Pay with your Blood" – Kick-off event in Hamburg!

    35 years ago...

  • Program
    Music
    Bands
    Play at Wacken Open Air
  • Camping
    Camping Areas
    General Info & Overview
  • Info
    Festival
    Festival ABC
    The areas
    App
    Cashless Payment
    Inclusion at W:O:A
    History
    Journey
    Official travel partners
  • Tickets & Shop
    W:O:A Tickets
    W:O:A 2026 Tickets
    Wacken Ticketcenter
    Merchandise
    Merchandise Online Shop
    Wacken Store & Info Office
  • Cashless Payment
  • Media
    Downloads
    Pictures
    Wallpaper
    The Bullhead
    Webcams
    Video
    WackenTV
    Press
    Press contact
    Press portal
  • Community
    Online
    35th Anniversary
    Forum
    Offline
    Fanclub
    Civic engagement
    Pay with your blood
    Green Wacken
    Wacken Foundation

    W:O:A Metal Battle
    Join the battle & rock the festival!

  • Supporter
Tickets

You are here:

  1. Start
  2. News
  3. News-Details

Important

This article is VERY old (older than 2 years)!

Wacken Stories: Gerd Nottelmann

Created by Katharina Metag
08/17/2018

Almost 30 years of W:O:A lead to many, many great stories – crazy, heart-warming, revealing, or just plain funny. To collect those stories, we have talked to the people that live, work or party around the „Wacken Holy Ground“. Their experience illustrate the festival’s extraordinary spirit, so have fun with special anecdotes which you won’t find everywhere else: Here are the „Wacken Stories“!


Gerd Nottelmann (Fire brigade squad leader)

„We reenacted Wacken in the southwest of Germany“

 

Gerd Nottelmann ending up at the W:O:A was like festival mud on our shoes: inevitable. Being the squad leader of the local fire brigade in Holstenniendorf, the village right next to Wacken, Nottelmann is simple responsible by law.

 

„On average, our fire brigade is called into action six to ten times a year, so naturally the W:O:A is a highlight every time. We’re always taking turns for the shifts with our colleagues from nearby Gribbohm and Wacken. I started out in 2001, and at first I had to get used having to organize „a little bit“ more than usual.

 

That’s why I worked out a weeklong exercise and drill to take place in the city of Ahrweiler. That essentially meant: We reenacted Wacken in the southwest of Germany. We worked through several emergency scenarios, for example a tornado or a pandemic, to test our structures. We were taught by people from the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance as well as other experts. Also taking part were the festival’s organizers, the head of the police department and the medical rescue services working at the W:O:A. Over the course of three days, we rehearsed emergency situations in real-time, 24 hours a day. After that we took a trip the Rock am Ring festival, which takes place not far away from Ahrweiler. There we had the chance to talk to our colleagues about their experiences and security measures. It all ended with a wine tasting.

 

Our team hasn’t changed much since then, and that’s a good thing: You really learn how all parts of the system work together. We’re also lucky regarding the people at the W:O:A, which always had a stellar audience. Everybody is friendly and acts sensibly. But only when the festival is over without any incidents and I can sit down on my porch on Sunday afternoon, I can really come down and relax.“

 

Gerd Nottelmann’s wish for the 30th W:O:A, if anything was possible:

„Status Quo have been my personal highlight. But for AC/DC I would be in front of the stage again.“

 

Katharina Metag

Powered by
Let's go to Wacken!
  • Subscribe to our Newsletter
  • Bands
  • Tickets & Shop
  • Media
Stuff
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions 2026
  • Imprint
  • Data Protection Regulation
Supported by

© 2005...2025 by WOA Festival GmbH - Hosting by ICS MEDIA SERVICE