Dirndl Facts for Kids

A woman wearing a dirndl

Austria, Traditional costumes from Tyrol, EU

A dirndl [ˈdɪʁndl̩] is a type of dress worn by women in Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and South Tyrol. It is made to look like the traditional clothing that peasants from the Alps used to wear. Originally the term Dirndl meant girl in Bavarian. Now it can mean either the dress or a girl. It was also called a Dirndlgewand. In the 1800s servant girls wore a very similar dress. They were very plain. A heavy, often dark colored dress was worn in winter. It had a long sleeve dirndl blouse and thick apron to go with it. In summer a light version was worn. Summer dresses were worn with a short puffed-sleeve dirndl blouse. Different styles were worn in different regions. The bow on the apron is tied on the left (she is single) or the right side (she is not single).

Images for kids

Children wearing traditional dirndls at a folk festival in Vilshofen an der Donau (Bavaria), 2012
Different colour variations can depend on the origin of the woman wearing a dirndl.
Young woman in dirndl from Salzburg region (right) and farmer´s wife wearing goldhaube (centre), 1847
Painting by Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885), Dirndl und Jäger im Gebirge (Young woman and hunter in the mountains), 1870
Painting by Hermann Kauffmann (1808–1889), Tändelndes Paar beim Buttern in der Stube (Couple courting while churning butter)
Painting by Emil Rau (1858–1937), Lesendes Mädchen (Girl reading)
A young German girl in dirndl watching boys playing.
Seated women wearing dirndls from the 1970s.
Traditional costume of the Volks- and Schuhplattlergruppe from Faakersee in Carinthia, Austria.
Woman wearing dirndl in the style of Isarwinkler Tracht, near Bad Tölz (Bavaria).
Women in festival dirndls (Wiesntrachten) at Oktoberfest.
Young woman wearing traditional dirndl during sacramental procession, Seis am Schlern, South Tyrol, 2014.

Dirndl facts for kids

Images for kids

See also