Revellers in costumes braved rainy weather on Wednesday as Carnival season kicked off in Germany, with festivities focusing particularly on the western cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz.
Revellers in costumes braved rainy weather on Wednesday as Carnival season kicked off in Germany, with festivities focusing particularly on the western cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Mainz.
Thousands of Carnival enthusiasts in fancy dress refused to let the bad weather dampen their spirits.
Also known as the Fifth Season, Carnival traditionally starts at 11:11 am, mirroring the date – the 11th day of the year’s 11th month.
Carnival season runs until Ash Wednesday. It has an ancient tradition and marks the build-up to the main celebrations ahead of the Christian fasting season of Lent that leads up to Easter.
In Cologne, Carnival royalty – consisting of a triumvirate of a prince, a peasant and a maiden – are traditionally enthroned on November 11.
“I’d say: just keep on celebrating,” Cologne’s Carnival Prince Marius I told dpa. “I don’t think anything can stop the people of Cologne from celebrating, and that’s why it’ll be just as lovely as if the sun were shining.” A year ago, there had been glorious sunshine on November 11.
A police spokeswoman meanwhile said it was still too early to say whether the poor weather forecast had reduced the number of visitors.
With just over 1,000 police officers, 450 public order officials and around 1,200 staff from a private security firm, the city aims to cope with the expected rush.
Comedian Guido Cantz, hosting the Carnival broadcast on WDR television, congratulated Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose birthday falls on November 11.
“Friedrich Merz is turning 71,” said Cantz. “Rumour has it he’s at Phantasialand with his friends,” a reference both to a popular amusement park in Germany and to a chancellor who might be out of touch with reality.
Downstream in Dusseldorf, the carnival character Hoppeditz awakens on the 11th of November and gives a speech.
In the Carnival stronghold of Mainz, around 9,000 people were expected to attend the main event on Schillerplatz.
The official start of the new carnival season is also celebrated elsewhere in Germany, including in southern German states.
dpa
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